Login User, Book 2
by Alpha Starwell
Summary: Co-written with VirTaAshi. Continuation of an OC-centric fic located exclusively on Deviantart. What happens when a young User comes to Mainframe, with a Rogue Guardian hot on her tail? What will happen when the Mainframers discover she is a real User? Tune in and find out!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This story is co-authored with VirTaAshi. IMPORTANT NOTE: Book 1 of this story is Deviantart exclusive because it is OC-centric, the kind of story that isn't allowed here. You don't have to read it if you don't want to, but I would recommend looking it up if you want a better idea of what's happening. Simply google "Queensister", my Deviantart Username, and you should find it. That's all for now. :)_

Metallic tendrils slithered throughout the control room of the Principal Office like snakes until they completely engulfed the area. The extensions covered the central control area like an infestation of weed-like vines.

Several newly infected binomes stood to one side of the room with a freshly infected Phong; all of them were in a slight daze. In the corner near Megabyte stood the robotic form that held the "awakened" null that was Welman Matrix. The bot held the young boy, Enzo, restrained by grasping the youngster's arms.

"Dad-let me go!" Enzo grunted as he struggled against the bot's grasp. "You can't let him do this!"

"I'm not," the slightly warbled voice came from the null. Enzo froze and glanced up sharply in surprise. "But my body won't do what I'm telling it to… it is infected!"

Enzo stared in open-mouthed amazement. The green null still had the red markings of Hex's work; perhaps that made him immune to Megabyte's attempts to infect him. "Dad!" Enzo exclaimed. "You're okay!"

"So it would seem. But I can't move…" The 'face' of the null almost exhibited regret and sadness, at least it gave off that vibe. Nulls were expressionless by nature, but Welman sometimes managed to make due with what he had. Perhaps with more time and practice he would master more expressions, or some equivalent. "I can't control myself…"

Enzo resumed his squirming and glared at the virus. "You won't get away with this, Megabreath!" he yelled.

"Oh," Megabyte crooned as he casually examined his claws, "but I already have." He brushed an imaginary blemish from his metallic, mutated chest with a brush of his hand.

"You just wait 'til Bob gets here! He and my big brother will kick your bitmap right back into the Web!" Enzo continued to squirm, trying to yank his arms free.

Megabyte merely looked amused. It really was poetic irony that, in a way, the sprite who'd helped form his existence was now restraining the boy. He would use this to his advantage later, especially since it would be absolutely delicious to use the boy against his sister and her friends.

"Oh, they are free to _try,_" Megabyte countered smugly. "It appears that all their attempts to stop me ultimately fail." He began to tap a few keys on the control terminal with his long claws. "Your friends are ultimately predictable. Your Guardian refuses to delete anything, even that which he knows to be a threat." He grinned smugly. "That is his weakness, and my advantage. One of many, actually."

"Bob will stop you!" Enzo persisted, ignoring his father's attempt to shush him. "He's a much better sprite than you'll ever be! You're nothing but a big bully-you're not even half the sprite that your sister was!"

"You're trying to compare me to my random sister? My dear boy, I have received upgrades and additional modifications that, combined with my intellect, shall enable me to do things across the Net that none of you can even imagine."

Megabyte turned away from them as if he'd suddenly grown bored with the conversation. He had other things to do at the moment anyway; he would deal with them later. The virus made a simple gesture of his hand to the infected bot, giving it a silent order. It clamped a hand over the boy's mouth to keep him silent. Only angry muffles of protest could be heard; Welman himself wisely chose to stay silent.

The virus established access to the function that enabled system-wide announcements.

"Attention," Megabyte's voice boomed throughout all of Mainframe, "as you are no doubt aware, the Principal Office is now under my _complete _control. You're probably looking forward to one of my erudite speeches about me, Megaframe, the new Viral Dawn, et cetera et cetera. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you. There is no grand scheme here. This is about _revenge._ Viruses are predatory by design. And it is time for me to follow my function. Prepare yourselves…" He sneered, "_for the hunt."_

Enzo let out another muffled grunt through the hand that remained clamped against his mouth. He even bit down on it, trying to make it let go. It only made his teeth hurt.

Megabyte disabled the system-wide features, then turned his attention to his new minions. "Phong," he commanded, "come over here."

The robot-like sprite shuddered, resisting the control. His coding now contained trace amounts of infection but, as an administrative program, he was not so easily influenced or affected. Only a Supervirus like Daemon had the power to truly infect read-only memory. This was the reason why Megabyte had been unable to simply infect him and make him give up information back in the time when "Megaframe" was his.

"Bring him to me," Megabyte ordered, indicating some of the binomes to come forward.

The infected binomes grabbed Phong and began to push him toward the virus. He struggled against them but they held him firmly as they moved forward.

They held him in place when they neared Megabyte. Phong's dull bronze face was reddened with anger. "You won't get away with this, _virus!" _Phong snapped, his entire form trembling with anger. He was also shaking off the tinges of infection, keeping it at bay. Megabyte's ability to infect others was different than it had once been, for it had become more powerful. It was still not as potent or thorough as Daemon's had been, though.

Megabyte rolled his eyes. Did they always have to say that? It was becoming _so_ cliché. "This won't hurt a bit," he said with an evil smile. He raised his hand and extended his claws, preparing to strike as Phong's rail-like neck shortened, drawing his head closer to his body. The old sprite did not cower, he simply tried to make his head more difficult to slice off or pull off again.

Megabyte savored the moment as he held his arm in the air, taking delight in Phong's expression. There was fury on the wizened sprite's face, but his eyes were laced with fear. Fear for the system, fear for his friends and everything he cared about. Phong's self-sacrificing nature would simply make him suffer yet again.

"I already know you won't give me what I want willingly," Megabyte said, "so we will do this hard way… again." Phong flinched as the virus grabbed him roughly by the head, and prepared to slash at his neck with his claws-

But then something happened:

"ATTENTION: INCOMING FILE. ATTENTION: INCOMING FILE." The System Announcement blared throughout the entire city.

That was enough make Megabyte hesitate, stopping in mid-swing. "Well now, what is this?" He maintained his hold on Phong's face, using his free hand to tap a control. A VidWindow appeared.

"Report," he spoke to one of his minions outside. The binome on the screen stared up at the golden-colored sky in transfixion for a moment, then snapped to attention. "What is going on out there?"

"There appears to be a User Update in progress," the binome replied, making a clumsy gesture somewhere between a wave and a salute.

"I see," Megabyte replied. Sometimes that could make things complicated, especially since the User would occasionally input new anti-viral defenses functions.

He squeezed Phong's face just enough to make the old sprite grunt in pain. "Looks like our fun will have to wait," he said, and then tossed Phong aside like a rag doll. "Remain here," he ordered his minions. "I am going to intercept that upgrade."

0o0o0o0o0

Mouse tried one more time to input a password to access the control center, but the door refused to budge. She already knew that none of her regular access codes were going to work; Megabyte had changed them and locked everyone out. But part of her hoped that her intuition and skill as a hacker program would aid her.

Nothing happened. "It's just no good!" Mouse slammed her fist against the wall beside the panel.

"Mouse," AndrAIa said, holding her trident at the ready as she guarded the Hacker's back, "we've got to find the others and come up with a plan!" She and Matrix had been through plenty of sticky situations in other systems, especially in games. But she knew from her experiences with Daemon that there were some things you couldn't handle alone.

Especially when it came to very powerful viruses.

Mouse reluctantly backed away from the door. "Yeah, you're right, Sugar. We've got to make sure Dot, Bob and the others are alright, and then-"

That's when they heard the System Announcement. "ATTENTION: INCOMING FILE. ATTENTION: INCOMING FILE."

The women exchanged glances.

"Come on," AndrAIa urged, "we gotta make sure that upgrade gets installed!"

"But Megabyte has taken over the Principal Office!" Mouse protested as they began to run down one of the halls, side by side.

"The User Update might help somehow," AndrAIa said as they went. "Sometimes it contains anti-virus measures."

Mouse sighed. "Alright," she relented. "We can at least make sure somebody gets there to install it. But after that, we deal with Megabyte."

The sprites proceeded down the corridor, taking a few twists and turns until they finally reached an exit. They scrambled to the top of the Principal Office just as the sky changed from gold to bright yellow. The update was about to arrive.

A slim shadow passed over them, obscuring the bright light from above for a nano. "You ladies need a hand?" Ray Tracer appeared above them, hovering on his surf board.

AndrAIa gave a little smile, then spoke in her best "take charge" voice. "Listen, you both should find Bob, Matrix and Dot," she said. "I'll stay here and make sure the update gets installed."

"We should use a VidWindow to contact them," Mouse said, already in the process of calling one up.

Within moments, they had two VidWindows up; one that showed Matrix and Bob, another that showed Dot, Hack and Slash.

"Where are you?" Bob wanted to know. He and Matrix appeared to be somewhere inside the Principal Office.

"We're on the roof," AndrAIa answered. "I'm going to stay here and make sure the update gets installed. I'm sending Mouse and Ray to rendezvous with you."

"That's a good idea," Dot nodded, "we should make a rendezvous point-"

"How about the Infirmary on the lower level?" Matrix interjected.

"Yes," Bob agreed, "there's a supply room near there where we can grab some gear."

"Okay then," Dot nodded, pleased that they had all been organized. "Once we're there I'll tell you my plan." Something about the way she said that suggested she had one in the works, but she hadn't finished

"Be careful, Dot," Matrix said.

"You too," Dot said with feeling.

The VidWindows winked out.

"Good luck, Sugar," Mouse said to AndrAIa. She threw out her Zip Board and it decompressed; she quickly stepped onto it.

"Ray," the Hacker said after a moment, "you stay here and watch after that update." She gripped her katana tightly in her hand. "I'll help Bob and the others."

"But, Mouse-"

A white beam shot out of the sky and deposited a round cylinder on the rooftop, in the very center. The sky changed from yellow to gold, then resumed its normal sapphire blue hue.

There was no more time to waste.

"Go on, both of you!" Mouse urged. "I'll be fine."

Ray sighed. "Alright, love," he said, zipping downward and hopping off his surf board, landing lightly on the roof. He then took his surf board underneath his arm. "You be careful in there, ya hear?"

Mouse gave him a half-grin as AndrAIa approached the cylinder and prepared for the descent into the Principal Office. Normally Phong should have been present for this, but the wizened old sprite had entrusted key individuals with important passwords to sensitive areas within the Principal Office.

After all, everyone had learned since the Viral Wars and the Daemon Infection that neither Phong nor the Principal Office were invincible. In such cases where Phong was captured and the integrity of the Principal Office became compromised, someone else could now step in and do things if they needed to.

"I always am," Mouse said, grabbing the front of Ray's shirt just enough to pull his face to hers; they exchanged a brief kiss.

Then the female Hacker pulled away, and she was gone.

"Come on," AndrAIa called. "We've gotta get this update installed, now!"

Ray nodded and moved toward the elevator-but he didn't make it very far. Several infected binomes appeared on the rooftop, cutting him off from AndrAIa and surrounding him.

AndrAIa cursed and readied her trident to help him, but Ray raised his hands and shook his head. "No, just go!" he called out. "I'll keep them busy-just get that update installed!"

AndrAIa hesitated-then she nodded. "Here, catch!" She matter-of-factly threw her trident in his direction; it hit one of the attacking binomes squarely in the back, causing the unfortunate program to fall.

Ray all but flinched at the sight of it, even if he was grateful to have the aid of her weapon. The woman had excellent aim, though the barbed points only missed his surf board by centimeters. "Good luck!" was the last thing AndrAIa called out before she vanished down the elevator with the upgrade.

"Right," Ray muttered as he extracted the fork-like weapon from the binome. He made a gesture, and his surf board flew from his grasp and attacked the group of infected binomes that stood between him and the elevator. This knocked them over like bowling pins and prevented them from following AndrAIa.

Ray made an aggressive swing with the trident that knocked a few binomes behind him off of their feet. A few other virals stepped back reflexively. Ray then jumped onto his surf board and took up a position just above the hollow shaft where the elevator had already descended.

"Anyone else want to try something?" Ray asked in his best tough-guy imitation. He was no Matrix, but at least he had speed on his side.

"Oh, I believe I do."

Ray didn't even have time to turn his head; a pair of metallic tendrils came out of nowhere and penetrated his bitmap. He gasped and crumpled; he fell off of his Surf Board and landed next to the elevator shaft.


	2. Chapter 2

Welman Matrix grunted as he tried to fight the infection's control, but it was no use. "Dad," Enzo said, "what are we gonna do?"

"I don't know," Welman sighed. "Wait," he said after a moment, "I have an idea…"

Enzo watched in amazement as the null began to squirm and expand. It seemed that Wellman was trying to squeeze out of the helmet; after a few moments he succeeded. He then latched onto the power source of the bot and began to drain its energy, as nulls normally did.

"Whoa, dude, that is cool!" Enzo exclaimed with a grin, as the robot's arms went limp. The boy pulled his arms free.

This caught the attention of several infected binomes. "Enzo, run!" Phong cried out. He was still being held in place by a few virals.

Enzo grabbed the green null, wincing as the contact with its skin began to drain energy from his hand. Just as his extremities began to go numb, he grabbed his red cap and plunked the null into it. "Don't worry, Dad!" he said, "I'll get us out of here!"

Unfortunately there was only one door and it was locked. Several of the infected binomes came behind him.

"Uh oh," Enzo gulped. He then began to bang on the door with his free hand, for whatever good that did. "Hey!" he yelled. "Is anybody out there?!" He turned and pressed his back flat against the door; the binomes came up to him and grabbed him.

"No!" Welman slithered out of the cap and curled around one of the binome's arms like a leech; he began to drink in the energy from the infected program, just enough to lessen his energy levels and make him weak. The two other binomes who grabbed Enzo attempted to slap the null away as he touched them, but it was no use.

After the binomes had fallen, Enzo took his Dad into his cap once again and looked around. "There's gotta be some way out of here!"

"Enzo!" Phong called out. "Use the secret passage!"

"What secret passage?" Enzo asked.

Phong managed to gather enough strength to wrench himself out of the grasp of the binomes who held him. He then raised his arms in an exaggerated fighting stance as he backed away from them.

"Allow me," Welman said, once again slithering out of the cap. Within moments, he had taken care of the remaining binomes by reducing them to a weakened state.

"Alphanumeric, Dad is kicking their bitmaps!" Enzo enthused.

Phong snatched the null between his long, spider-like digits and quickly dropped Welman back into Enzo's cap. "Come with me, my child!" he urged, moving toward one of the walls. "The secret exit is right through here!" He spoke a password, and the door opened.

"Oh cool," was the last thing Enzo uttered before he followed Phong out of the control room and down the secret corridor.

0o0o0o0o0

Dot, Hack and Slash arrived at the rendezvous mere microseconds before Bob and Matrix showed up, followed by Mouse.

"Where's Ray?" Dot asked.

"I left him with AndrAIa to help her look after the system update," Mouse replied. "So, what's the plan?"

"That's just what I was asking," Hack said.

"Oh yes, we were wondering the same thing," Slash put in.

"But I asked first!"

"Yes you did-"

"Both of you, shut up!" Matrix barked. The two robots shuddered and fell silent.

"Look," Dot said, "we need to find a way to get into the control center and defeat Megabyte before he can take over the system again!" Her lips pressed into a thin line and her hands clenched at her sides. Her thoughts were clear; _she_ was _not_ letting the system crash again, not if she could help it.

Everyone else agreed with that sentiment. "Everybody take what you need from the supply locker," Bob urged, inputting an access code to disable the function lock. It swung open at his command.

Dot was the only one who took a weapon. After all, Bob had Glitch, Matrix had Gun, and Mouse had her katana. Dot was the only one who didn't make a habit of carrying a standard weapon. "I guess this will do," she said as she took a pistol from the locker.

"Alright," Bob said, "we still have access to a viral wipe command that the Guardians left with us after Daemon's infection was cured. We should be able to cleanse Megabyte's infection before it spreads."

"Good idea, we can try to use that," Dot said.

"But will it work?" Matrix was skeptical.

"It's worth a try…. If we can get to him," Mouse said.

"But will it delete Megabyte, too?" Matrix asked.

Bob shot him a glance, his feelings clear on that. "I'd rather not delete him, just contain him and stop him from infecting the system," the Guardian stated.

"Bob, it's not going to work!" Matrix growled. "You've got to see that. He's too dangerous. He destroyed Mainframe once and he wants to do it again." His digits clenched so tightly that the tendrils of his energy veins stood out. "We've _got_ to delete him!"

"No," Bob shook his head. "I won't accept that. Not until we have no other option!"

Matrix grumbled something incoherent.

"Stubborn as ever," Mouse commented, giving a shake of her head.

"Come on, we can use the secret entrance," Dot urged. "We've got to help Enzo… and Dad!"

"Right behind ya, Sugar," Mouse commented as Dot began to sprint. The others followed her closely.

0o0o0o0o0o0

AndrAIa waited until the elevator finished its descent, then she carefully looked over the cylinder. She placed her hands on either side of the cover and inserted her fingers into the edges, wedging her digits deeper into it as she slowly pried it off.

Once the cover was off she set it aside on the ground and leaned forward, looking into the container. A white glow emanated from deep within; the update was there, ready for the taking.

She reached inside to grab the data when a voice spoke from behind her. "Allow me to help you with that, Sheila." AndrAIa's head snapped up; Ray was standing right behind her.

"Oh, I didn't see you there," AndrAIa said, straightening. Ray stepped up beside her and lowered a hand into the container; each of them grunted a bit as they lifted the heavy object out of it.

"I can take it from here," Ray said, attempting to take it from her. "Don't trouble yourself with it."

AndrAIa narrowed her eyes, looking a little suspicious. "Where's my trident?" she asked warily.

"Oh… I must have dropped that upstairs."

AndrAIa tugged back a bit on the update data block; it continued to shine brightly within their grasp. "The Ray I know wouldn't be that careless," she commented. "Not to mention…" Her eyelids flickered. "Where's your surf board?"

Ray's eyebrows lowered over his goggles. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I think you might be Megabyte." AndrAIa gave a firm yank on the data block and then stamped her foot on Ray's; she then allowed it to drop onto the floor behind her with a twist of her body.

Blue spikes extended from her fingertips and she turned back to face "Ray", just as he morphed into the ugly, mutated form that Megabyte had become. He grabbed her wrist before she could stab him with her claw-like nails.

"How rude," Megabyte said as he grabbed her other arm. "And here I thought we could do this the easy way."

AndrAIa twisted, bringing her leg up and sticking it between the virus's legs; she slashed one of Megabyte's ankles with the spines on the back of her leg. Megabyte snarled and faltered somewhat; this enabled the female sprite to yank one of her arms free.

She stabbed her nails into his chest; they penetrated his bitmap and stayed there like blue darts. Megabyte grunted in discomfort and swerved a bit. He matter-of-factly knocked the woman across the room, sending her sprawling on the ground.

"You are beginning to annoy me, girl," Megabyte growled, and then he lifted his arm and a pair of metallic tendrils shot out of it. AndrAIa shifted and rolled out of the way just in time, allowing the tendrils to fly past her. One of them missed her backside by mere centimeters.

Megabyte retracted them with a look of frustration. He took a step forward, corrected his aim, and tried again as AndrAIa stood.

The female sprite leaped and sailed head over heels as the tendrils sang through the air where she had been a moment ago-and they penetrated the update data block.

AndrAIa's face dropped in an expression of horror. What was going to happen? Could Megabyte infect the update?

Megabyte growled, tugging on his hand. The tendrils, however, held firm and refused to be dislodged; they appeared to be stuck inside the data block. Then the update began to glow bright white, and the light traveled along the tendrils.

"No!" Megabyte exclaimed as the light touched his hand and traveled up his arm, then engulfed his chest. "What is happening to me?!" His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as his entire form began to glow.

AndrAIa watched in mild fascination, unsure whether to be awed or horrified. She took a few careful steps forward, watching closely. She covered her eyes with her arm and looked away as the light became blindingly bright; in a brilliant flash that lit up the entire chamber, the virus simply vanished.

When she opened her eyes again, she was alone. The data block had dimmed into a very mild, silvery glow. Then it, too, vanished.

Another System Announcement sounded off: "FILE INSTALLATION COMPLETE. FILE INSTALLATION COMPLETE."

AndrAIa let out a breath of relief. Apparently her work here was done, and Megabyte had been taken care of by the User's update.

So it would _seem,_ at least. But… was the virus truly gone for good…? She couldn't worry about that now. She took one final look around the chamber and, once satisfied that she was alone, she sprinted back to the elevator and began to ride it back up to the roof. She had to make sure Ray and the others were okay.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Bob and the others came to a skidding halt when Enzo and Phong came running from the opposite direction, with Welman riding in Enzo's cap.

"Enzo!" Dot rushed forward, stopping herself at the last nano from taking the boy into her arms. Now wasn't the time for it, and she didn't want to risk making him drop their father. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay, Dot!" the boy said. His face nearly split in half with a grin as he became ecstatic and talked faster. "You should have seen Dad in action! He was Alphanumeric, he was kicking their bitmaps! The way he protected me and Phong from those-"

"Enzo," Welman spoke from inside his cap, "there will be time for that later."

"Phong, are you okay?" Bob asked, looking at his friend with concern. "What happened?"

"I am well, for the moment," Phong said. "But Megabyte has left the control room, and I do not know where."

Matrix said, "Then we've got to find-"

The system voice cut him off. "FILE INSTALLATION COMPLETE. FILE INSTALLATION COMPLETE."

A collective air of relief filled the corridor.

"Sounds like AndrAIa and Ray did it," Mouse said with a knowing smile. At least _that_ had gone off without a hitch.

"Now we've just gotta take care of Megabyte," Matrix said, his voice just above a growl. He already had Gun in hand.

"Not without a plan," Dot spoke up, her processor already racing. "Okay," she said after a moment. "Enzo, I want you to stay with Hack and Slash-get out of the Principal Office and go to the Diner."

"But Sis!" Enzo protested, "I wanna stay here and help!"

"Out of the question!" Matrix said sternly. "You'll just get in the way."

Enzo folded his arms. "This isn't fair! You were my age when you started surviving the games!"

"Enzo, we've been over this," Bob reminded the boy. "You're not Matrix, and you don't have to be."

"I know, and I'm not!" Enzo said. "But that doesn't mean I can't do anything!"

"Enzo, I need you to look after Dad," Dot said, charging the boy with a responsibility. "Take him to the Diner and make sure he stays safe."

The kid beamed as he accepted the responsibility. "Okay, Dot," he said in a serious, business-like manner that mirrored hers. "I will."

"Now get going." Dot gave him a one-armed hug. "Both of you," she eyed Welman, "be safe."

Once Hack, Slash, Enzo and Welman were gone, the remaining sprites turned to face each other. "We should organize a search party," Dot began, but a VidWindow cut her off before she could say anything else.

AndrAIa's pretty features filled the screen. "I got the update to the chamber and it installed itself," she said. "I'm on the roof now-Ray needs help; he's offline."

"Hang on, Honey." Mouse was gone in a flash.

"Have you seen any sign of Megabyte?" AndrAIa asked.

"No, have you?" Dot wanted to know.

"Yeah, I saw him down below-he was disguised as Ray," AndrAIa answered. "But I think the update deleted him; he vanished as it installed. It must have been some kind of anti-viral update."

Matrix wasn't so convinced. "I don't buy it," he said. "Megabyte's never vanished because of a system update before."

"…It may be possible that the User's update erased him," Phong mused.

"User? Erase?" Matrix snorted. "I doubt the User knows the meaning of the word."

"We'll keep an eye out for him," Dot said. "Come on, we've got to get back to the control room."

They headed back to the control room through the secret passageway; they found the offline binomes on the floor, and the metallic tendrils which had penetrated everything had withered; some of them were already beginning to fall off and disintegrate.

Matrix yanked the remaining tendrils off of the terminals, crushing them and causing them to disintegrate into nothing. Bob moved from binome to binome, curing each one of any traces of viral infection with his icon. Dot, in the meantime, began to check over the systems within the control room.

"Everything seems to be alright," Dot was saying. "I'm running a scan on the new update."

"Let me see," Phong said, leaning forward. He adjusted his spectacles as he looked at the readouts. There didn't seem to be any problems or abnormalities; a few system patches seemed to be in affect which would reduce runtime errors and allow the system to run more smoothly. "Everything appears to be in order," he said. "I see a few upgrades to the city's defenses…"

"But Megabyte could still be out there," Matrix said. He refused to believe that any virus as powerful, intelligent and crafty as Megabyte could be gotten rid of so easily.

The door opened; Mouse came in, heavily supporting Ray as the Surfer leaned against her. AndrAIa came in behind them, carrying the surf board. "I'll be okay, love," Ray murmured to Mouse.

"I think ya should get scanned before you say that," Mouse insisted.

"I should be scanned as well-along with everyone else who has been infected," Phong stated, casting a glance at the drained binomes whom Bob had cured. There were probably still more out there who needed to be taken care of.


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone remained quite busy over the next several seconds.

Ray and Mouse mopped the streets of the remaining infected binomes and anyone who'd lost their PID addresses. Dot and Phong continued to work hard within the Principal Office, cleaning the place up and organizing repair crews. The building still sustained some damage from the first time Megabyte had taken it over, and now it had even more damage. It would take some time before the dome-shaped building was in perfect working order again.

Wellman Matrix did his best to assist with repairs as well, at least while Enzo was at school. Once his robot body had been cleansed of infection he was more than happy to help.

Matrix, on the other hand, was doing the last thing in the Net he thought he'd be doing… at AndrAIa's coaxing.

"You want me to take over Dot's Diner?" Matrix blinked. "But AndrAIa-"

"I've already talked to Dot about it," AndrAIa interjected. "Look, Sparky, she _needs_ someone to take over because she's working full time at the Principal Office now."

"But why me?" Matrix grumbled.

"Because you'd be great at it." AndrAIa looped an arm around his. She drew closer to him. "I know you weren't a half-bad cook when you tried your hand at it when we were kids."

"Heh. Well…"

"Besides," she added with a mild glare, "it will give you something to do that _doesn't_ involve asking the local law enforcement to shoot at you with live ammo."

"It was just a training exercise," Matrix defended with a dismissive shrug. "You never know when Megabyte might-"

"Matrix, it's been five seconds and there's been no sign of him."

He narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't mean he won't show up." He glanced skyward. "Or if not him, something worse."

AndrAIa sighed. "Fine," she relented, "but that doesn't mean you have to spend _all_ of your free time asking people to shoot at you or fighting in games."

"But we have to defend the system from games!"

"You don't have to go in _every_ game. Bob can handle some of them."

Now it was Matrix's turn to sigh. "Fine," he said, knowing it did little good to argue when she got like this. She could be just as persistent as Dot. "I'll tell Sis that I'll take care of the Diner."

"Good." AndrAIa pulled him close and kissed him. "I asked Cecil to give you updates on the newest fast foods and the compilation recipes. He's waiting for you right now."

Matrix rolled his eyes. "Alphanumeric," he muttered, falling back on his childhood phrase to express annoyance.

"Come on." AndrAIa took his arm into her own. "I'll walk with you."

"Is this a date, or do you want to make sure I don't take any side trips?" Matrix smirked at her, half-annoyed, half-amused.

AndrAIa nestled against his shoulder as they walked. "Both," she finally admitted.

From that point on, Matrix could be seen at the Diner almost every second. It kept him off of the streets and away from live ammo. He'd even dropped the habit of carrying Gun around with him all the time, though he did keep it behind the counter within reach; just out of sight. With the aid of Cecil he learned his way around the kitchen and the food compliers, plus he'd updated his icon with a Diner's uniform complete with an apron and a red and white striped shirt and pants.

Cecil and Matrix continually got on each other's nerves as Matrix took full charge of the Diner, but as long as they each performed their specific tasks and stayed out of each other's way, they were fine.

Dot stopped by one second to see how things were progressing; she strolled through the doors and sat upon a stool at the bar. Since she was the owner of the establishment, she didn't wait for someone to seat her.

"Hi, Dot," Matrix greeted his sister. He stood behind the counter with a rag in hand; he appeared to be polishing the surface and cleaning up an energy shake spill. Sometimes the food products would move too quickly or get a little too energetic; messes occurred as a result.

"Hi there, big brother," Dot acknowledged with a smile.

Matrix returned it with a small smile of his own. "Can I get you anything?"

Dot couldn't help but giggle; she pressed her hand against her lips. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I just never I'd see you-"

"Behind the counter, wearing an apron?" Matrix snorted. "This _was_ your idea."

"Well, it's a good look on you." Dot couldn't quite suppress another chuckle; it escaped through her nose. Matrix scowled slightly; she couldn't quite pass the noise off as a sneeze.

"_Ha ha_… excuse me." Dot coughed. She cleared her throat and regained her composure. There was something about seeing the big, muscular man in those diner clothes. Perhaps her easy access to giggles meant she had been working too hard.

"So," she said, "how's it going here?"

"Not too bad. The customers seem to like my cooking; some of them say I've spiced up the sausage spheres with extra energy spikes."

"Sounds spicy," Dot commented, intrigued.

"Yeah. I heard it sent one binome to the hospital because it nearly rearranged his digits."

"Well, just put a warning label on the menu," Dot suggested, though it sounded more like an instruction. Despite how big and burly her brother had grown, sometimes she still slipped back into 'big sister' mode.

"Already done." Matrix jabbed his thumb behind him, at the menu just above him.

"Well, that's good." Dot rested her elbows on the counter and leaned forward. "So how about an energy shake?"

"For you? On the house." Matrix took one out of the food compiler and handed it to her.

"Perhaps you're forgetting I still own this place," Dot said with amusement. She gripped the cup firmly with an experienced hand; she knew how to handle the food products here from hours of experience. It squirmed a bit in her grasp but did not escape.

"Yeah, but you did put me in charge," Matrix pointed out with mild amusement.

Dot took a long sip through the straw and sighed with contentment.

"Does it meet your approval?" Matrix leaned on one elbow, discarding the cleaning rag.

"It's very good," Dot said with a nod. "Just as good as the ones I used to make."

"So you just came by to sample my cooking," Matrix teased lightly.

Dot chuckled. "I had to make sure you wouldn't drive the customers away," she said in a light-hearted tone. "That's bad for business."

After a moment, both of them sobered. "How are things going a the Principal Office?" Matrix finally asked.

"Everyone is busy," Dot answered. "There's still no sign of Megabyte, and we're almost finished removing all traces of his infection from the system and the people he infected…" She sighed and stared down at her shake, a forlorn expression on her face.

"What is it?" Matrix asked.

"It's just…" Dot fiddled with her straw absent-mindedly. "I've been thinking about everything that's happened." She glanced up and gave her brother a meaningful look. "Sometimes I think I got used to it when things were… random," she sighed. "I was constantly busy… I could always find something to do to just keep going and take my mind off things."

She inhaled deeply, as if fighting back emotion. "I don't know how I kept going after I lost you," she went on, her voice thick with feeling. "I'd lost Bob, and then I lost you, and then we lost the Principal Office…"

"Hey, Sis, it's okay." Matrix took her hand into his, giving it a light squeeze. His hand was so much bigger than hers; it nearly engulfed her smaller, more slender hand. "It's over now. You've got me, you've got Bob, and…" He grunted. "You even have your little brother back."

Dot smiled slightly, but her eyes still looked sad. "Yes, I do," she whispered. She gave his hand a firm squeeze in return. "But there always seems to be something. Every time I think everything is settled, when I think I can finally be happy…"

Matrix nodded in understanding. After Daemon infected the entire Net, everything had gone to the Recycling Bin. Bob himself had been forced to aid the Supervirus in infecting the rest of the Net, and it had taken a lecture from Matrix's younger self to assert his own will enough to break free of the infection.

Then after that… a second Bob had appeared. Someone who turned out to be Megabyte.

Matrix scowled, then forced his mind back to the present. He knew exactly how his sister felt, what she was going through. Megabyte's reappearance had obviously affected her on a far deeper level than even _he_ had realized.

No wonder his sister kept trying to keep herself busy at the Principal Office. She still had a hard time facing Bob, the _real_ Bob, and now she lived in partial fear that Megabyte would pop up and try something again.

"Look, we all gotta stop fighting sometime," Matrix told her, echoing AndrAIa's own words.

"Every time I start to tell myself that… something else happens." Dot glanced away.

Matrix carefully hopped over the counter and took a seat in the stool beside her. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I know," he said. "But… you love Bob, don't you?"

Dot blinked a few times, trying to prevent the tears from falling. She didn't quite succeed; she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Yeah," she admitted. Her voice sounded strained. "I do."

"Then why do you keep avoiding him?" He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "He loves you, too. I can tell he's just giving you space because he feels you need it, but…" He glanced away. He wasn't big on heart-to-hearts, but his sister needed to hear this. "I can tell it hurts him as much as it hurts you, the way you've been avoiding him."

His words managed to sting Dot and touch her heart at the same time. Now a tear streamed freely down her cheek. She let it fall, grateful that there weren't many patrons in the Diner at the moment. "He hasn't said anything," she defended weakly.

"He's been trying," Matrix stated. "You just keep pushing him away."

"Well, everyone's been so busy…"

"Dot." Matrix touched her chin, gently but firmly, and forced her to look at him. "Come on, this is me you're talking to." He knew emotional distance when he saw it; it was something that he and AndrAIa had had to deal with soon after they became lost in the Games. Both of them changed a great deal and he had established barriers within himself without realizing it.

AndrAIa had been the only person who could penetrate those barriers for a long, long time. Even if she had to adjust to the changes in him, and the changes as both of them matured and grew into adults during their time in the games.

He would not let Dot throw away her happiness when there was no reason to. "Bob is home, and you have your family again. Even Dad is back," he said. "You gotta stop and look at everything good that's happened in your life, too. You can't work yourself to deletion or spend your time worrying about what might happen next."

"Yeah… I guess you're right." Dot closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She leaned against Matrix and he gave her a brotherly hug. "I just don't know how much more I can take, if anything else happens."

"Don't worry, Dot," Matrix said firmly. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. And Bob is back; he's not going anywhere either." He held her tightly against him, as if his large arms could keep her and the city safe from everything.

"Yeah…" Dot rested her head against his chest. The apron smelled funny and it was mildly stained, but she didn't care. She could clean her bitmap off later. "No matter what happens, we always end up getting through it."

"That's right, Sis. We Mainframers stick together."

Dot gave him a peck on the cheek. "Yes, we do," she said sincerely. "Thank you, big brother." She untangled herself from his arms and stood, moving toward the door.

"Where ya going?"

Dot stopped and half-turned in his direction. "I'm… gonna go talk to Bob."

Matrix smiled and nodded as she left. He watched her go and then he turned back to the counter. He eyed the half-empty cup before him; Dot had forgotten her energy shake. He gave a slight shrug of one shoulder and took it in hand, taking a long sip. It certainly wasn't the strongest drink he'd ever had in his life, but it was definitely the fastest. Even a small sip could make one feel energized enough to run ten circuits.

"What is this-what do you think you are doing?!" Cecil's voice cut into Matrix's musing, causing the Renegade to purse his lips in irritation. "This is not the time for your lunch break, you still have things to do!"

Matrix set the cup down quite firmly; not slamming it, but with enough pressure to convey his annoyance. "In case you haven't noticed," he said, "I'm running this place now. If I want to sit down for a nano, I will." He took a long, drawn out sip from the cup until air sucked through the straw, indicating it was nearly empty.

Cecil threw his arms up in apparent disgust. "Well, while you are sitting here on your ASCII's being _lazy,_ five more customers have come in!"

"Then why don't _you_ serve them?"

"This is _your_ establishment, as you are so fond of pointing out!"

Matrix stood, placing his fists on his hips. "Is that what this is about?" he asked. "You're upset because Dot didn't ask _you_ to be in charge?"

"Well…" Cecil's voice faltered. "I have been waiting on this place for far longer than you ever have!"

"From what I've seen, you don't even _do_ much work," Matrix snapped, jabbing a finger at the service drone. "You only serve people when you feel like it, and you constantly ignore people you don't like!" He folded his arms across his chest. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't fire you."

Cecil looked outraged and horrified. "Fire _me_?! You wouldn't! You couldn't!" he spluttered. "Dot would never-"

"Dot is _my_ sister and she's left _me_ in charge!"

"But I have looked over this establishment ever since-"

"How's everything going in here?"

Both Cecil and Matrix turned in unison; AndrAIa stood just inside the double doors, her hands on hips. When neither of them answered, the female sprite stepped forward and regarded them both with disapproval.

"Have you both been arguing again?" AndrAIa stepped closer, almost between them. "And here I thought you settled your differences. What is it about _this_ time?"

She glared at them with just enough intensity that Matrix gazed downward and scuffed his shoe against the floor, much like he used to when he was younger when Dot scolded him. Cecil moved backward a couple of feet on his ceiling rail, coughing.

"Well?" AndrAIa folded her arms.

"Well-" Cecil cleared his throat.

"Well," Matrix grumbled, "I was sitting at the bar talking to Dot. And then-"

"I let you and your sister have some privacy, that is the least I could do for her," Cecil spoke up. "But then he-" He looked at AndrAIa and pointed at Matrix, "just continued to sit there after she left. We won't get anything done if he continues to be lazy!"

"I'm not the one being lazy," Matrix said. "You're the one who isn't doing-"

"Alright, that's enough!" AndrAIa interjected with a 'cut it out' kind of gesture. "I think both of you should just get back to work… and I'll help. Cecil," she wagged a finger at him, "give a menu to each of the customers who just came in, and take their orders. Matrix and I will be ready to compile their food once you've done that."

"….Very well, Mademoiselle." With that, Cecil moved away, grabbing a notepad and pen from the counter and making his rounds.

AndrAIa touched Matrix's arm. "Get behind the counter, Lover," she urged him. "I'll check the supplies in the back to make sure we aren't running low."

"Who _is_ in charge here, you or me?" Matrix asked.

She smiled. "I'm just helping you out," she winked, and then she vanished into the back.

Matrix shook his head and went back behind the counter. More people were starting to come in through the doors for lunch; apparently it was going to be another busy afternoon. He was actually glad that AndrAIa had chosen to come in and help.


	4. Chapter 4

"So… how's your food?"

Dot smiled slightly as she glanced up from her meal. Bob sat across from her in the same booth, leaning back casually with one leg crossed over the other. Both of them were perfectly at ease, and even the Diner's lights had been dimmed to enhance the romantic atmosphere.

"It's good, as always," Dot answered, picking up a piece and putting it in her mouth. She had to do so carefully and she kept a hand on the container's lid at all times. Otherwise it would try to run away. "Though I feel like I'm bragging whenever I say that," she added with humility.

"Why's that?"

"Because I created all of the food items here… or if I didn't, I modified them." She took a sip from her energy shake.

"It just shows you did good work, if you like it as well," Bob said with a smile. "It's something to be proud of."

"Well, if you say so." Dot smiled and gave a contented sigh as she leaned forward. She wore a snug-fitting evening dress that showed off her slender form tastefully.

Bob had worn his usual outfit and, when he first spotted hers, his eyes had lingered on her accentuated curves before asking if he should have worn something for the occasion. Dot had simply said it didn't matter; she'd simply felt like dressing up and letting her hair down for once.

With Phong, Mouse and Ray managing things at the Principal Office, Matrix handling the Diner with Cecil and AndrAIa looking after Little Enzo and Frisket… this was the first second that Bob and Dot had had an evening to themselves for many seconds.

"So," Dot began after a long moment, "what did you want to talk about?"

Bob seemed somewhat taken aback, as if a spotlight had just shown down on him from overheard. "Talk about? Uh… I thought you were the one who wanted to talk." He cleared his throat sheepishly.

"Oh, well… I kind of thought you wanted to talk about… us. Or uh, I guess I thought we should talk about us, and I thought you'd want to, too…" Dot's voice faltered; she felt like she was babbling like an idiot.

"Dot, hey, it's okay," Bob said, touching her hand. "Just… tell me what's on your mind."

She looked at him, almost blushing slightly when she saw the intensity with which he looked at her. It was a look of deep caring, concern. Bob cared about everyone as was his nature; he'd even saved viruses whenever he could. But this look in his eyes right now…

He never looked at anyone else like that.

"Bob," she murmured, cupping her hands around his and tightening her fingers around it. She held it firmly as her eyes bored into his, and their lips grew closer to one-another.

"Yes?" Bob said softly; Dot could feel his breath on her face.

"I… I love you so much." She swallowed, but she did not break eye contact. "And I am so sorry I doubted you. I feel like… I gave up on you when you needed me most."

"Dot…" Bob stroked her cheek with his free hand; her face melted against his palm. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. What happened is in the past, and I'm here for you now."

She closed her eyes momentarily, feeling the warmth of his hand against her face.

"You are so beautiful," Bob whispered. The words seemed to escape his lips before he could stop them, but nevertheless they seemed like the perfect thing to say.

Dot's eyes opened. "Thank you," she murmured with affection. Their lips drew closer together, then touched; they kissed.

A soft hem-hem of a throat-clearing caused both of the sprites to break their kiss. Dot looked mildly annoyed at the VidWindow that had appeared right beside them. "What is it, Walter?" she asked the binome in a business-like manner.

Now the binome looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Ma'am," he replied with a tip of his spherical head-body. "But the Bloody Mare has just entered the System and docked at a port on the edge of the City. The Crimson binome wishes to see you there at your earliest convenience."

"Alright," Dot said with a nod. "Tell him I'll be there in a few milliseconds."

"Will do," Walter nodded again. "And, Miss Matrix…?"

"Yes?"

"Apparently there is a curious young sprite on the ship, someone that the crew picked up in the last system they were in." Walters scratched his temple, as if puzzled himself. "The girl appears to be lost, and she has no icon."

Bob and Dot exchanged glances. Any program lacking an icon meant they also lacked a PID, which could mean a virus in disguise or that the sprite in question had suffered an unknown tragedy.

"Thank you for letting me know," Dot replied. "I'll be there shortly." She then terminated the VidWindow.

"I think I should go along with you on this one," Bob suggested, already standing.

"Do you think there could be trouble?" Dot asked.

"Either that or that sprite might need help," Bob said. He frowned, his face growing serious as he felt a pain in the back of his head.

"What is it, Bob?" Dot asked.

"I don't know," Bob answered with a slight shrug. "Something doesn't feel… normal." He was already moving toward the door. "Come on, we should get over there."

Dot nodded, their romantic dinner already forgotten.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Alpha Starwell eventually woke from her deep slumber below deck. She had done her best to stay out of the way, even out of sight, during the entire voyage. Setting sail on a flying pirate ship through cyberspace was weird, though no more weird than getting picked up by random biker traveling in-between systems.

Starwell wondered if this was what she had resorted to. Had she become so lost in this alien realm that she had become nothing more than a hitchhiker? _You're not a hitchhiker,_ she told herself firmly. _Somebody paid for your passage, you have every right to be here._

Would she get home someday, or would she spend the rest of her existence wandering from place to place?

If she had been more of the adventurous type, or if her ability to get home was more assured somehow, she might have enjoyed all of this at least a bit better. How many people back home could say that they'd seen the things she had seen, or experienced the things she had experienced? Hell, part of her still wasn't convinced that all of this wasn't a dream.

For the most part the pirates left her be. She'd heard all of their names at least once, but she didn't bother to absorb the knowledge. She figured she wouldn't be there all that long anyway.

The only beings she could associate with their names were Captain Capacitor, his assistant Mr. Christopher, and of course the giant Princess… Oola, was it? Or Ooba? Okay so maybe she didn't remember her name. Starwell simply stayed well away from the Princess because she was huge and scared the pants off of the young User.

Starwell snapped to attention when she heard someone shouting. Apparently they had arrived at their next destination, a system called Mainframe. She very slowly crawled out of her hiding space (between two large barrels located behind an even larger crate) and slowly climbed the stairs to the upper level.

Captain Capacitor peered through a telescope across a purplish-blue substance that extended in all directions. By now, Starwell knew that that was an energy sea, something that every system had apparently. "Prepare for deceleration!" he called out. "Bring us to the docks and lower the sails! We'll be in Mainframe within the millisecond!"

Gizmo chirped on Starwell's arm, making a sound for the first time in a while. The girl grimaced at it; she didn't want anyone to notice she was on the deck yet.

"Ah, there ye be, young lass," Captain Capacitor said, turning to look at her. "As ye probably heard, we will be there shortly."

"Yeah, I heard," Starwell nodded warily.

"Is something the matter, Miss Starwell?"

"No. Yes. Well…"

"Captain," someone interrupted, "I've spoken with Mr. Walter in Mainframe. It seems that Dot Matrix and Guardian Bob will meet us at the docks."

"Very good, Mr. Christopher!" Capacitor enthused. "It be far too long since I've seen our friends. Now," he turned back to the girl, "don't ye worry, lass. Whatever yer troubles may be I'm sure that they can assist you."

"Are you sure?" Starwell asked. Mainframe was the third system she had been to so far, and she'd met plenty of unfriendly people.

"I would stake my very Code upon it," Capacitor said with a knowing smile.

"Yeah, okay… wait a minute," Starwell blinked, "did you say there's a Guardian here?"

"Why of course. Bob is a remarkable sprite; a true survivor. I guarantee that he can assist you, young Guardian."

"Why do you keep calling me a Guardian?" Starwell asked warily.

"Ye have a Keytool as the Guardians do." the Captain narrowed his eye at her. "If ye aren't a Guardian, where did ye acquire it?"

"Look, it doesn't matter what I am," Starwell replied a bit testily. Then her tone and expression softened. "I'm just trying to get home, that's all."

"So ye have said." Capacitor stroked his chin with his hook. "The reason I allowed ye aboard was because I sensed ye were you in trouble. I shan't let it be said that I ignore a damsel in distress, and I don't suppose I need to know ye business. But," his expression turned serious, "once we dock at Mainframe, off ye go. You can tell ye troubles to Bob and Dot."

"Are you sure I can trust them?" Starwell asked warily.

"Do ye trust me?"

"…I don't know yet," Starwell admitted honestly, scuffing the toe of her boot against the wooden deck.

"Ah." Capacitor inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. "A fair answer, lass. We hardly have had time to become acquainted. Just know that my men and I have done all we can for ye; the rest is up to you and the people of this good city."

"Yeah, okay," Starwell said with a little nod. "Um…. Thanks for everything."

A short time later they arrived at the docks. Once the vessel was secured and the engines were shut down, Captain Capacitor began barking orders. There was a rush of movement as several hands lowered the ramp and began to haul crates, boxes and barrels from the ship to the docks below.

For a little while Starwell felt as though she'd been forgotten in the midst of the flurry of action. She leaned against the side of the ship and peered over, watching quietly as the cargo was unloaded, counted, and signed for below.

A short time later, two sprites arrived on Zip Boards. Starwell's eyes shot toward them; she had learned to be wary of newcomers during her time in the Net. Sometimes they could mean trouble.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Dot left Bob's company to speak with Captain Capacitor. Bob hovered above the ground on his zip board, glancing about. He saw the crew bringing their cargo down the ramp from the ship. When he glanced up at the ship…

He spotted her. A young female sprite leaning against the edge of the ship. She wore a simple gray shirt with dark blue pants and a pair of silver boots. Bob was surprised.

The Guardian floated up toward the ship, toward the young sprite. As he got closer he noticed her arm. A Keytool was attached, but it looked different… more so, it _felt_ different. It was the same general shape and size of a regular Keytool, but there were a few small differences. There was something unNet-like about this Keytool, but the only logical reason he could see this girl own a Keytool is if she was a Guardian.

_What's a Guardian doing on the _Saucy Mare_? _he wondered to himself. The Guardian protocol was that there was only one Guardian instituted within each system. The only exception was if the Prime Guardian himself chose to enter a system, or a Guardian had proper authorization codes from the Prime Guardian.

The girl's head snapped up when she noticed his approach. She pushed herself back from the side of the ship and took a few steps back.

"H-hello?" she said tentatively, narrowing her eyes in his direction.

"Hello yourself," Bob greeted with a wave. Had the sprite not been so young he might have used a more official tone, but this situation didn't seem to warrant it. He frowned slightly as he took note of her outfit. "Who are you?"

"Um… I'm Alpha Starwell." She tilted her head to one side, peering up at him. "Who are you?" She looked more than a little nervous.

"I'm Guardian 452," Bob said, starting with his official protocol. He placed a hand on his hip. "Why aren't you in a Guardian uniform or armor?" he queried. Unless the young sprite had a unique fashion sense or someone had changed the Guardian uniform without informing him, this sprite was not dressed for the occasion.

Then again, her bitmap truly did lack an icon…

"Why does everyone keep saying I'm a Guardian?" the girl sighed.

"Well, you have a Keytool."

"Yeah… I do." Starwell pressed her lips into a thin line. She didn't seem inclined to say much else.

Before Bob could say anything, Glitch beeped at the strange Keytool. [State your designation,] was the approximate translation in the complex Keytool language.

As a rule, only someone who was joined with a Keytool could understand it, and only their own Keytool. Anything that a different Keytool said sounded foreign to anyone who wasn't bonded to that particular Keytool, even if they had a Keytool of their own.

The only exception was the Prime Guardian; he could understand what all Keytools were saying. Bob knew this, as anyone who had a Keytool did.

The Keytool on Starwell's arm chirped. [Designation? Why, whatever do you mean?]

[State your designation,] Glitch repeated.

"Glitch…" Bob warned.

"Hey, you have a Keytool," Starwell observed with interest. She hadn't seen one since… well, since she left Anna Code's company. "What's your Keytool saying?" she asked, somewhat curious.

"He's trying to figure out your Keytool, sorry about that," Bob replied.

[My name is Gizmo. What is yours?]

[Designation: Rogue,] Glitch categorized.

Gizmo was offended. [Rogue?] the Keytool squawked. [Rogue, huh? What is _your_ designation, then?]

[I am Glitch, assigned to Guardian 452.]

[Assigned to a Guardian, you say? How interesting,] Gizmo replied haughtily. [I would have to say I surpass you in importance, then. It so happens that I am assigned to a U-]

"Gizmo!" Starwell slapped her Keytool, instantly silencing it. "That's enough," she hissed through her teeth. The last thing she needed was for everyone in this new system to find out what she really was. Not until she determined whether or not she could trust these people, at least.

The Keytool on her arm beeped a couple of times, and the girl took another step back and placed her hand over it. She looked as if she were afraid it might fly off, or that he might take it.

Bob eyed her thoughtfully. Obviously the young Guardian-if that's what she was-was possessive of her Keytool, although to say she was a full Guardian would have been pushing it. He knew a rookie when he saw one.

Judging from the sprite's name, "Alpha Starwell", she had a Tester Format. That was the only reason anyone had Alpha or Beta in their name. They were experimental programs. So that would explain the Keytool, and the lack of PID.

"Well, would you like to see Mainframe?" Bob asked in a friendly tone. Perhaps if he spent more time with the young sprite he could learn more about her, especially if he could alleviate her fears and get her to loosen up.

Starwell swallowed. "I'm not sure," she replied cautiously. "Is there anybody out there who's gonna try to kill me?" The question escaped her lips before she could stop herself.

"Why would someone do that?" Bob blinked. Perhaps this sprite really _had_ been through a trying ordeal.

Starwell opened her mouth, and closed it quickly. How could she say anything? It was best to keep what she truly was to herself.

"To tell you the truth," she allowed vaguely, "I've been to two other systems already. And I've run into trouble in both places."

She indicated the ship around her. "That's why I came with Captain Capacitor and his crew. They were getting me out of a jam, and... the Captain said I'd be safe here, and..." She raised her shoulders bashfully. "He said maybe you guys could help me."

Bob landed on the deck and stepped off of his zip board. "What do you need help in?"


	5. Chapter 5

For a moment the girl seemed uncomfortable with his approach, but she quickly relaxed. There was nothing threatening or aggressive about his stance, after all. "I just want to get back home," Starwell stated firmly. "I'm from very far away, and I don't belong here."

"Have you tried returning with the crew?"

"Well... they were already on their way here. I don't want to inconvenience anybody. I just need to get back home."

"I'm sure we can help," Bob said thoughtfully. "All we need is your system's IP address."

"Okay," Starwell nodded. "I know that Gizmo has a copy of it. Um, is there somewhere we can go?" She still felt wary around the Guardian, but at least it seemed like he wasn't going to do anything to her.

Besides, he gave off a very friendly vibe. Somehow, she already liked him, at least a little.

"Well, can go to the Principal's Office if you like," Bob answered with a slight shrug. That did seem like the ideal course of action, especially since there he could ask Phong to run a thorough scan on her.

"Yeah, I suppose." She shrugged. "I think I need to get off the ship anyway." She began to toward the ramp.

"I can get you a zip board, it'd be easier," Bob suggested as he walked alongside her.

Starwell blinked at the unfamiliar terminology. "I'd rather walk, if that's okay," she said, already moving down the ramp. She had to be careful to avoid the crewmen as they continued to haul cargo. She nearly smacked her head against a large crate as she weaved between a pair of binomes.

She let out a breath of relief as she reached the bottom of the ramp. "Look," she said to Bob, "I... I really don't know what to say anymore, but I made a terrible mistake."

"What happened?" Bob asked. Something about the way she said that reminded him of Little Enzo, particularly when the young sprite was about to own up to a confession.

"Well…" Starwell trailed off momentarily. As she and Bob walked alongside each other she stared at the ground, allowing her arms to swing freely.

"Well, what?" Bob prompted after a moment.

Again, the girl got that uncertain look about her. Could she trust him? Could she reveal that she was a… User? He might be able to help her more if she spilled the beans on that fact.

"I um… played around with my Uncle Frank's computer when I wasn't supposed to," she finally said, edging her way into the subject at hand.

"What's a Cahm-Put-Or?" Bob asked, choosing to inquire about the odd terminology.

Starwell stared at him for a moment, blinking. She looked as if she found it strange that he'd never heard that term before. "You don't know what a computer is?" she exclaimed, making an exasperated motion of her hands. "This is a computer!" She made a sweeping gesture with her arm, indicating everything around them. "At least I assume it is! Or… a system, or whatever you call it here," she said thoughtfully.

"Well, the only Cahm-Put-Or I know of is the Supercomputer," Bob scratched his head. Then again, he knew that different people from different cities might use different forms of terminology. Perhaps the term "Computer" was an abbreviated form of "Supercomputer". But this wasn't the time or the place to think about term origins; Dot would be better suited for that kind of thing anyway.

"Uh, okay," Starwell said, as if unsure how to respond to that. Then it seemed to dawn on her. "Oh my gosh… I'm in a Mainframe comp-system? That sounds pretty… big," she remarked. "I bet it's bigger than my Uncle's system," she mused out loud, as if to herself, "both inside and outside… at least maybe!"

"So, your Uncle… is he the Command Dot Com of your system?" Bob unanimously decided that he didn't understand a thing about this sprite. A Tester Format or no.

"Uh..." Starwell again looked uncertain, as if she'd been told a phrase she didn't know how to process. It was as if there were some things she'd never heard before, or she was simply slow at recognizing.

The girl compressed her lips and stared at him for a long moment, as if she wasn't sure what to say or how to say it. Bob opened his mouth to say something, but Starwell spoke first.

"My Uncle Frank _owns_ his PC computer," she finally said, speaking very slowly and plainly as one would when trying to convey a high-processing idea to a low-processing program. "It's a _desktop computer._ You know, a system that runs programs and games, and my Uncle _uses_ the computer so that he can _use_ those programs. Sometimes he lets me play games as long as he's in the room with me."

She paused a moment, then continued. "We _use_ his computer by typing on the keyboard." She held up her hands and mimicked the motion of typing with all ten of her fingers, then dropped her hands. "I guess Uncle Frank had been playing around with some kind of new device-a piece of hardware," she quickly clarified, "because I did something stupid and I got... changed, and pulled into his system. Then... I guess I ended up going through a portal heading _out_ of his system... and somehow I ended up here."

Starwell stopped talking, licking her lips almost nervously. She stared off into the distance for a moment, as if looking at something far away only she could see.

Bob's processor stopped for a few nanoseconds. His mind was stuck on a word. "You play games?" Bob was horrified, if a little, "You're allowed to play games?"

The young sprite cocked her head to one side, looking at him as if that was one of the strangest reactions she'd ever received at the mention of games. "Of course I play games," she stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Who doesn't? They're fun and they're harmless. Well," she shrugged, "unless someone gets addicted to them or something I guess. But otherwise they're just fun ways to kill time."

"You play games for _Fun?!" _Bob almost felt like he was talking to Little Enzo. "Don't you know what happens when a User wins? What if you lose? You would nullify everybody in a sector, including yourself!"

Starwell's eyebrows shot up and she took a step backward. She appeared stunned by his reaction, giving the Guardian an even bigger idea about how little she understood. "Nullify? What?" Her forehead crinkled as her brows drew together. "I don't know what that means, but why should it matter whether the User wins or not?"

Bob opened his mouth.

He had experienced games. Back in the Guardian Academy, he went through simulation programs, and occasionally the real deal. In Mainframe, he knew the games. He went through all of them he could, if he could. He had seen the results of sectors that have been wiped out by Game Cubes. He'd seen the horrors that the User would inflict on Mainframer and game-sprite alike.

He would have told the young sprite all these things.

But as the Read Me file says, the worst possible thing happens at the worst possible moment.

"WARNING: INCOMING GAME. WARNING: INCOMING GAME."

Bob and Starwell looked up as the sky darkened, becoming almost black. A hole seemed to open far above their heads as a long, purple cube that looked like liquid energy began its descent. By some sheer coincidence, it appeared to be moving straight toward them.

"What is that?!" the girl exclaimed, raising her hand to shield her eyes. Lightening seemed to crackle around the cube as it continued.

"It's a game cube!" Bob exclaimed, somewhat puzzled as to why she would ask that. Didn't she just say she had played games before? He moved toward her and gave her a light push. "Run that way," he instructed her. "You've _got_ to get out of the game cube's path!" He knew that since she had no PID, she would probably go with the game if she got caught in it. The only ones who didn't get taken by game cubes without an icon were Codemasters and viruses.

There was a slim chance her Tester Format would preserve her within the system, but he didn't want to test that.

Starwell's eyes flickered rapidly, as if she was trying to process what was happening and what was being told. Bob grabbed her shoulder and gave her a slight shake. "Run!" he told her again. "That way!" he pointed.

She gave a squeak, and she finally became unfrozen and turned to run. Unfortunately the game was making a rapid descent; it was almost upon them.

She only made it a few meters away when it touched down upon them. Some distance away from her, Bob nearly swore under his breath; he should have used Glitch push the girl out of the game's path somehow.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Starwell's energy pulse quickened within her as her surroundings changed completely. For a moment she became frozen in place once again, unsure what had happened to her. Had she somehow been teleported out of Mainframe? Did that mean she was in a different system now, one that looked like a forest?

She eyed the Keytool on her arm, though it remained silent. Somehow she doubted it was responsible.

Everything had changed, literally. She gasped as a loud shriek sounded overheard; some kind of creature moved through the trees. It quickly vanished amidst the leaves and branches; whatever it was, she never saw it.

Starwell took a hasty step forward, wanting to put some space between herself and whatever that had been. It was better to be safe than sorry, after all. The toe of her boot caught on the edge of a root and she went sprawling face-first against the ground.

"Ugh," she grunted as she pushed herself to her knees. "I think I'm smack in the middle of Mother Nature."

The Keytool on her arm chirped. [Starwell, this is a _game._ The first one we have had the good fortune to enter!]

"Game…" Starwell blinked rapidly. She remained exactly where she was on the ground and slowly looked around. "Yeah… I heard the voice say something about a game…"

The landscape around her was absolutely gorgeous, complete with a sunny sky, birds chirping, and trees stretching out in every direction. She supposed that whatever movement had rustled in the branches above her had been a bird, or perhaps a squirrel or two. At least she _hoped_ that's all it had been.

"A game," she said aloud to herself, as if trying to get that concept to sink in. She was really _inside_ a game? Like the kind where you install and play as a character?

If that was the case… was she supposed to play?

0o0o0o0o0o0

Matrix stood in a clearing, examining his surroundings briefly. He had completed his shift at the diner and business had slowed to the point where Cecil could handle things. Matrix had been on his way to the docks to see Capacitor and assist the crew with the shipment when the system had announced an incoming game. Naturally, he headed straight for the cube before it finished its descent.

He found himself in the middle of a forest, in the midst of some trees and bushes. His boot crushed a white flower as he took a tentative step forward; his movement startled a pair of birds from one of the nearby pushes. Their wings fluttered rapidly, sending a few feathers flying in his direction.

One of the feathers landed on his boot. He picked it up and examined it, turning it over in his fingers. Sometimes such items could be used for ingredients in games, especially RPG-formats. But he normally didn't get into that sort of thing unless absolutely necessary.

He discarded the feather, simply grateful that the birds had not discarded something _else_ onto his boot, as had happened in one game when he was a younger sprite.

"ReBoot!" he said, tapping his icon with two fingers. He was momentarily engulfed in a bright flash of light, and when it faded he examined himself. He now wore heavy black armor, complete with a helmet that concealed his entire head. A long, sheathed sword hung from the side of his belt.

He briefly made a note of Gun's absence, but that didn't mean anything; Gun would often change into another format while inside the game. He checked his form more carefully and found a short bow attached to his back armor. A quiver of arrows hung from a strap that draped over his shoulder.

There it was. He took the bow in hand. _That_ was Gun. He gave it a light squeeze and hefted it, getting a feeling for its weight and texture. It was one of the ways he got "into character".

Finally he began to move forward, eyeing his surroundings warily as he proceeded. He had seen games like this before and it didn't take him long to recognize this type. Open-world, which had its advantages and disadvantages.

But in truth, he hated games like this. There was no straightforward way to beat the User or end the game quickly. At times, games like this could take a long, long time to end.

He gave a little shake of his head and proceeded.

…That was when he heard a strange System Announcement within the game, one that made him pause in place for a long moment.

It also caused him to curse under his breath.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hannah/Starwell heard the System Announcement as well, and the words caused everything to click into place inside her mind:

"Second User Identified," the feminine voice, announced, after some hesitation. It was as if the system had taken its time in registering this fact. "The second User has been accepted as Player Two, Alpha Starwell."

"Player Two?" Her mouth formed the words, causing her to whisper the word. It just didn't seem possible. Was _this_ how these people who lived inside the computer system perceived a _game? _

Hannah blinked once or twice, then smiled a little. Did that mean she had been officially accepted into the game? Now all she had to do was play?

Maybe this would be fun, to experience a game as if she was truly in it. It might be even better to experience this way; one could experience a game first-hand, and it would be far more real than virtual reality. Not that she had ever tried virtual reality, but she had definitely heard of it.

Her temporary pleasure at the idea faded when she realized something. She had no idea what the heck she was doing, where she was going, or what she was supposed to do. What kind of game was this? Was it an action/adventure, or an RPG, or a mixture of the two, or... what? Worse yet, what if it was an online MMO or something?

She decided she had nothing else better to do at the moment, so she began to trot along a winding dirt path, hoping it would eventually lead... somewhere.

Part of her wondered where Bob was. Maybe he got out of the way of the game path in time... though somehow she doubted it. If she hadn't been able to get out of the way of the cube quickly enough, he probably wouldn't have either.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Bob stood in a field. Vivid green grass could be seen every direction from where he stood, spotted with the occasional white or yellow flower. The sky was clear blue except for an occasional cloud. A falcon cried overheard as it flew over, no doubt on a hunt.

The game certainly had high quality graphics, he could give it that much. A gentle breeze rustled his hair slightly.

He held his left arm to his face. "Glitch, stats!" The Keytool on his arm whirled, and he took a nano to glance over the data. "The Olden Pages?"

The Olden Pages, or one of its series, had been used as a simulation back at the Guardian Academy in the Supercomputer. It was an example of an exploration game, and that made it difficult to find the User. But this kind of game, within consideration, did not nullify a sector upon departure. It was more of select nullification, depending how far the User got. And since there wasn't a Checkpoint or Lives count but Saves instead, that meant the User could exit when it wished.

And that meant it was going to be a long game.

Bob tapped his icon, on the left side of his chest, "ReBoot!" He was then engulfed in light. He came out, and wore bright metal armor. A sword on his side and a shield on his arm.

"Well, it isn't my worst Reboot." Bob looked around, trying to decide where the User could be or would have gone.

But-

Then the System Voice made another announcement. "Second User Identified, The second User has been accepted as Player Two, Alpha Starwell."

Bob froze. _What? _Did he just hear what he _thought_ he heard?

"Glitch," he said, "scan for the User." What he saw on the readout made him go bug-eyed. According to the game info there were two distinct Users being registered within the game. A quick double-check confirmed that it wasn't two characters being controlled by a single User, it really was _two Users._

Somehow, Alpha Starwell had been identified and registered as a User inside this Game. It was a phenomena he had never heard of before, much less seen.

How was this even _possible?_

"This is bad," he said. "This is very bad." Not only did it confirm that the young sprite had gotten trapped in the game like he suspected, but the game might continue for as long as she remained active… even if the User Avatar was defeated or exited the game.

"Glitch," Bob drew his arm closer to his face, "scanner." Glitch's small screen revealed several blips on it, indicating forms of interest. One of the blips pinpointed the location of the "second User". It seemed that Starwell was headed along one of the dirt paths.

Bob began to move, grateful that the girl was sticking to a pathway; that would make it easier to catch up with her. As for the "second User" thing… he was beginning to theorize that Starwell had been programmed to emulate a User, most likely by the Guardians.

But for what purpose? And how did it come to be that a Keytool had chosen her? These were questions he would need to ponder more later, when he had time to converse with the girl. Right now the priority was to find her and then focus on surviving the Game.

He reached the dirt path and then began to pick up speed, running as quickly as he could.


	6. Chapter 6

It wasn't long before Alpha Starwell came across the first signs of "life" she had seen, if one could really call it "life" inside a computer game. Then again, why not? To everything and everyone here... it moved and it thought at least to some degree, so it might as well have been "alive".

That was something which Hannah was still having a hard time trying to accept, even if Starwell already had. How was it possible that so many strange things could exist inside a computer system, and yet no one on the outside knew anything about it? How could there be people that one could talk to?

"Uncle Frank or somebody must have had an idea, or something," she commented aloud to herself. "I was so stupid in thinking that thing in his office was a Kinect for PC or something. Instead it turned me into a computer sprite, and now I'm running around like a rogue warrior princess or something."

She gave a little laugh at the thought. Hannah was certain that this sort of thing might be what any kid, especially younger ones, would dream about. Being able to go into the realm of fantasy and run around like you were really there… which she was.

As she continued along the path, she spotted some rabbits running and hopping along, all of whom sprinted in different directions upon her approach. She took a few more steps down the path and spotted a deer taking off. Part of her was disappointed; she almost wished she could just touch them, to see if their fur felt as real in here as it would outside the Net.

That was when she realized that she had no armor and no weapons. This was probably the equivalent of when she started a game as a character who had little or nothing. You started out stupid and with no inventory, and then you grab stuff and build up experience points as you went. At least, that was how she liked to look at it.

Did that mean she would grow physically stronger and more capable as she did more things throughout this process? Could she become a fierce warrior, like a superhuman inside this game? The thought intrigued her. It also creeped her out a little.

_Could I really change that much because I'm a real character in a game?_ she pondered.

She didn't have time to think about it, however, for there were a small team of bandits just up ahead. They appeared to be standing near a caravan, perhaps one they had already plundered and pillaged. As if to confirm this assumption, Hannah could see the gruesome sight of several slain people on the ground next to the caravan, their bloodied corpses already attracting flies.

And before she could get her wits about her, she had already been spotted. At least a couple of them began to dash toward her, their swords already drawn; one of them drew an arrow to his bow.

Her eyes widened into saucers and her breath caught in her throat. Here she was, standing there like a deer caught in the headlights, wearing no armor and she had no weapon or shield.

"Oh boy," she squeaked.

An arrow struck one bandit in the throat, causing Hannah to gasp and flinch. Blood spurted from the neck as he fell; it was a grisly scene. The body didn't disappear or explode, as in other games, which meant a Lootable Corpse. That was a good thing inside a game, as it meant a possibility to obtain items and equipment… even if it was disgusting when you saw it happening right in front of you.

The attack caused the bandits to switch targets. This gave Hannah a chance to look around and try to find her apparent savior. More arrows flew, killing another bandit. The last one was too close for arrows. While this wasn't the kind of game where someone could hack off pieces, the sword's blade did hit the neck of the last bandit.

An arrow hit the attacker in the shoulder. He quickly lined a fresh arrow against his own bow, at the last attacking bandit, who went down with a gurgling cry.

The Rescuer then turned in Starwell's direction, and they looked at each other. Hannah's eyes widened, feeling intimidated yet grateful at the same time; he had a menacing look about him, yet he had just saved her life.

His armor looked heavy and solid. It was black in color, and the only thing that shown through his helmet was a glowing yellow eye.

"I'll end this quickly, User." said the armor-clad man, and he pulled an arrow back on its string. The golden eye turned red with a distinct line of an M shape.

Starwell's shock and surprise had gone from brief relief to horror. Time seemed to slow down as she watched the newcomer's hand draw an arrow across his bow, directing the tip at her as he took aim.

The notion that she could get physically _hurt_ here had already occurred to her after she had first spotted the bandits. This was something that never occurred in games she'd played before... because she had been physically _outside _the computer. Back in those days it didn't matter if the character she controlled got beat up, slashed, stabbed, shot, or kicked into Kingdom Come. Here, now, it _did_ matter.

She let out a little scream as she moved just in the nick of time, jumping and rolling head over heels as the arrow sang past her. A small part of her consciousness thought she heard her attacker curse as his arrow missed. She scrambled toward one of the fallen bodies, unsure what else to do, and she looted it. She didn't find much but she did get a medium sword and, better yet, a bronze shield.

She held the sword close and held the shield out between herself and her new attacker, crouching down and trying to "hide" behind it as best she could. She had absolutely no experience in fighting, at least Hannah from the Real World didn't. Alpha Starwell, however, did have some rudimentary experience simply due to her presence in the game. Was it... sort of like instinct? Or just some basic programming that in-game Experience Points could build upon once she got more?

"Just stay away from me, please," she exclaimed. "Please, I don't want to fight you." Hannah was pleading for her life and trying to avoid a fight. At the same time, deeper down, Starwell was feeling disgusted at those spoken words; she wanted to step up and engage the fight. Obviously, Hannah was still running the show to some extent; Alpha Starwell hadn't been fully accepted and integrated into her personality/being yet. Perhaps that meant part of her was still in denial, or still trying to get used to all of this crap.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Matrix narrowed his eyes, never looking away from the User. Part of him had to admit that the User looked strange. But he had jumped games since he was a 1.0 Version sprite, he knew how this stuff worked.

When this User looted the body, he knew it would be easy. No armor meant no major protection. He'd broken game rules before by using Gun in golf games, physically fighting, and occasionally, exploits. This would be an easy play.

The User then begged for its life. Matrix had known Users to have the occasional line, usually programmed into the avatar itself. No matter how desperate, or angry or happy or even manic, the avatar was just a programmed tool. This was no exception.

He rushed the User. In breaking the rules, he actually kicked the shield away, knocking the User aside. She screamed, holding one arm in front of her face as if that could deflect a blow. In a quick display, he pulled his sword and raised to strike.

"Matrix! Stop!"

"Bob?" His sword stopped in mid-air as he turned to look behind him; Bob was running in their direction.

Hannah was terrified. Starwell, on the other hand, was outraged by the aggressive action and was prepared to assert herself more. Due to a combination of basic human survival instinct and the in-game programming that was permitted to her, Hannah/Starwell took advantage of Matrix's temporary distraction to snatch up her shield.

If Hannah had been calmer, and if Starwell had not engaged into fight-mode, she might have simply rushed to Bob to stand behind him or demand to know how he knew this armored brute. Instead… she simply reacted impulsively.

If a self-aware sprite could break the rules, so could a self-aware User character. She directed a kick at Matrix's shin and took a swipe at his chest with her sword. However, both attempts to attack him resulted in her bouncing off of his armor. She was, after all, attempting to go up against a heavily armored and fully experienced sprite; she was a novice human with the beginner's level of experience points, which meant a bare minimum of strength, stamina, and whatever else her character came with.

In fact, the only reason she managed to get her sword blade anywhere near his chest was because he stumbled a bit on a root risen out of the ground-and he seemed to be eyeing something on her arm, almost distractedly. If he'd had the chance to get it together again and direct a punch at her, as it seemed he intended, she might have been out for the count.

However, neither of them got a chance to move again, nor did Bob get a chance to speak or take action. The ground began to tremble and shake. This was followed by the sound of a thunderous roar.

All of a sudden the three of them could see the form of an elf wizard running in their direction. What _really_ caught their attention was the sight of what he was running _from._ An enormous golem was heading straight in their direction, apparently pursuing the elf.

The device on Hannah/Starwell's arm beeped, causing her to glance down at it briefly. She still didn't understand much about the Keytool, but what she saw being displayed across it gave her the idea that it was good for information. It simply told her that "Player One" was approaching. This caused her to look again. Was that elf wizard the character that the outside User was playing?

She didn't get to ponder the question long, however, because the golem acted. It grabbed a mighty boulder that was nearly twice the size of Matrix and, with a grunt of effort, threw it at the four of them. Apparently it wanted to try and take out all of its potential opponents at once, now that they were in the same general area.

This caused the four of them to scatter, to an extent. Matrix and Bob took off to the right of the path while both Users bolted to the left. After a moment of indecision, the golem apparently decided to pursue the Mainframer sprites; it began to march off in their direction.

Hannah/Starwell and the User avatar hid behind a large rock formation nearby, crouching into cover. Once they were both certain that the golem was not coming after them, they regarded each other almost curiously.

"You don't have enough experience points to take that thing on either, do you?" Hannah asked breathlessly.

This was the first time she had a chance to really get a good look at the User avatar. He was tall, slender and had long, lanky limbs, although his robes concealed most of his form. He had high cheek bones, a hawk-like nose, slanted eyebrows, and ears that were sharp and erect like knife blades.

What she really noticed was the eyes. They were blank, soulless, almost... colorless, if she could go that far. Oh they had color, sort of a brownish-green, but there was the fact that they represented nothing. When she had looked into Bob's eyes at least she had seen... an intelligence, a self-awareness that could indicate a soul, or at least sentience. This was just a mindless puppet made of graphics and programming parameters being controlled by a human on the outside.

That actually gave her an idea. Would it be possible for her to speak to whoever was playing this game? Maybe he or she could help her.

"Hey," she said, looking directly into the avatar's eyes. From her own experience in gaming she knew that the "camera eye" was usually focused in whatever direction _it_ was facing, so she assumed this was no different. "My name is Hannah, and I'm stuck in here. I'm human, just like you. Can you understand me?"

There was absolutely no response, and no indication that he'd even heard her. Hannah wanted to kick herself for being such an idiot. How could she seriously expect this _thing_ to respond to her? Even if the User on the outside understood her words, games weren't exactly made to talk to in-game characters, not through typing or anything else.

Outside Users could only interact with in-game characters in a limited fashion. If there was a chat feature in the game it was there to talk/interact with _other Users_, not in-game sprites. Because... nobody had ever conceived of intelligent programs before.

"Hey, _can you understand me_?" she demanded, raising her voice and waving her arms. She no longer expected the avatar to respond, but maybe somehow she could _still_ get the attention of whoever was out there... for whatever good it did. "I'm human, just like you! I'm trapped in this game! Hello? Come on, give me some sign you understand me! Please!"

The User avatar turned away and began to head off in a different direction-opposite of the way the golem had gone, of course.

Hannah/Starwell began to pursue, but quickly changed her mind. Of course, _it_ probably saw her as nothing more than a fellow game-character. Or even if it didn't, well... the User outside had no way to respond.

The fact that the User hadn't done anything to attack her made it seem that maybe he or she recognized her as another player, (which meant the option of attacking may not have been available in the game programming) but... it was unclear whether he/she could understand Starwell or not. Perhaps when she spoke, the only thing that could be heard through the speakers (or whatever a Mainframe had) was in-game gibberish.

Or was it possible the User had dismissed her as a glitch? There was no real indication that it had even _seen_ her. Maybe she only appeared like a mirage to it.

Hannah sighed heavily. Apparently she had three options now. Either follow the other User, or go see how Bob was doing (and risk another confrontation with Matrix, or worse, the golem) or strike it out on her own.

She did want to see Bob again, especially since that was the only person she had established a dialogue with, and... he seemed friendly, or at least willing to talk. However... she also figured it might be a good idea to boost her own experience points, just so she would be better prepared for anything that may come.

With that decision made, she continued along the path for a distance and, once she was certain it was safe, she took off into the forest. She was going to see what she could find.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Bob and Matrix ran a short distance through the forest. They were attempting to make some headway from the golem, hoping to either lose it or put some space between it and them before they engaged it. The mighty stone creature was enormous and it had a lot of strength; it was best to stay out of its reach.

"Why did you stop me?!" Matrix shouted as they ran.

"Because you would have killed her!" Bob shouted back.

A large boulder hit the ground nearby, which caused both sprites to move faster. Bits of loose dirt and rocks were thrown onto their backs.

"She's a User, Bob! What else am I supposed to do?"

"She _isn't_ a User, Matrix. She has a Tester Format, likely she was assigned by the Guardians to emulate a User."

"Where'd you get that idea!"

"She has a Keytool! Its the only explanation I can figure out!"

The two split apart for a moment. Matrix spun on his heel and fired arrows into the rock golem. They did minor damage. Bob threw a nearby rock. Since the game had a decent gravity engine and loose objects, he was able to do this without actually breaking game. This caught the golem's attention without damage.

As the golem came close to Bob, Matrix came behind. He jumped on its back, and climbed it. The Golem struggled and squirmed to knock the climber off. Matrix stood on its shoulders, and stabbed down his with his blade. The golem fell instantly, causing the ground to shake as it hit face-first.

Matrix was already off its back, having yanked and pulled his sword free as it had started to fall. He'd simply leaped off of it and rolled head over heads along the ground, coming to a stop in a half-crouch near Bob.

"Fine, Tester Format," Matrix growled, drawing himself to his full height and sheathing his sword. He had noticed the Keytool on her arm; it had definitely been an odd sight on an avatar. "But she's considered a second User," he pointed out, turning to face his friend. "What happens when she survives the game? She'll nullify everyone! And she has no icon, she'll go with the game anyway. Its her or us as far as I can tell!"

"I've considered that, Matrix," said Bob, "But I'm not about to give up on her. I want to help her, and I want to find out why the Guardians would make a program like her."

"... I don't like this," Matrix sighed, "I never liked these kind of games like this back when me and AndrAIa jumped games. Select nullification if you lose, and the best way to win is to out do and out wait the User."

"I know," said Bob, "We've got to find Starwell. She says she's played games, but she said it was for fun. I don't know how much she really knows about them."

The two nodded, and broke out running in a direction. Bob took a moment to check with Glitch; it looked like they were headed the right way.


	7. Chapter 7

Alpha Starwell proceeded through the forest at a modest pace. She continued her trek until she reached a cave, where she cautiously entered. Once she was satisfied that nothing was within, she plunked herself on the solid ground just inside. If nothing else, she was out of sight.

She turned her attention to the Keytool on her arm. Even though it had been her constant companion for a while now, it still mystified her whenever she thought about it. It was nothing like anything she'd had in the real world before she got sucked into her Uncle's computer system.

"Well, Gizmo," she said aloud as she touched it gingerly, "why don't you show me what you can do? Can you help me with this… game?"

The Keytool chirped positively. Over the next little while she stared as information was provided to her, including a map of the area, the location of the other User (at least while he or she was still in range) and...

What was this? She furrowed her brow, noticing some kind of command option. Yes, she could access the Main Menu of the game, which appeared in the form of a holographic window in front of her, emanating from the device.

It had the options that any human User outside the computer system would have access to:

**New Game**  
**Load Game**  
**Save Game**  
**Options**  
**Quit Game**

"Huh," she uttered, staring curiously at the menu.. Apparently she still had the access and powers of an outside User after all. Maybe if she could get out of this game she could use this to her advantage, back in the Mainframe system. Just figure out how to hook into a few commands, or... whatever, and she could get back to her Uncle's system. Then maybe she could use this gizmo to get back out into the real world.

A loud snarl caused her head to snap up. She didn't even have time to respond; a large wolf pounced on her, knocking her flat against the ground. She screamed, grabbing its throat as she tried to push it away as sharp, bared teeth threatened to snap her face off. Hot, heavy wolf breath smelled rancid against her cheeks and nose as she wrestled with it.

She realized that she no longer had her sword; she had apparently dropped it when she had run from the golem. How stupid and careless could she possibly be? Starwell was appalled at her gaff, but still felt she did have an excuse; she was new here! She wasn't used to fighting wild animals or mythical creatures, or being shot at by black-armored knights!

She wrestled with the beast, feeling its claws pressing uncomfortably into her shoulders and chest as she focused on trying to keep its mouth away from her. If only she had a sword, or a knife-anything! "HELP!" she screamed.

Gizmo shrieked in agitation. But it sensed others approaching, and Starwell was strong enough to keep the beast at bay, for the moment. The Keytool did give a sharp electrical jolt however, directed into the beast's face. It yelped and whined shrilly, somewhat stunned, but it did not cease its attack. It snarled angrily, keeping the girl pinned down.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"HELP!" The high-pitched scream could be heard echoing through the forest. Bob and Matrix froze for a nano, glancing around. As Matrix attempted to pinpoint which way the scream originated from, Bob checked with Glitch again.

"That way!" Bob pointed, and they began to move. They pushed forward, dashing through the forest and into the mouth of a cave. They found the young sprite, Starwell. A game sprite-a vicious wolf- was on top of her. Matrix notched an arrow, and fired. It hit the game sprite in the head and penetrated its skull, all the way through. The game sprite turned and growled, the arrow tip sticking out between its eyes.

"Uh oh," said Bob.

The game sprite jumped away from the young sprite and it threatened attack. Matrix slung his bow around his back, and unsheathed his sword. Bob readied his own sword and shield.

The wolf howled. A wave of blue came from it. Bob knew that sometimes game sprites could do more than just attack. They could leave an effect of fear, or even paralyze anyone. Sometimes they could cast spells, and sometimes one couldn't fight an attacking game sprite but it _could_ attack you.

This blue wave did not produce an effect of fear or paralysis. But other howls came.

"Bob, what did that just do?" asked Matrix, as he looked around for any on coming attackers.

Bob checked his Keytool as Starwell scrambled to her feet, glancing in every direction with widened eyes.

"Oh no." Bob's eyes widened, "Matrix, you remember Neighboring Cruel, right?"

"What about it?"

Growls were coming all around. Starwell gave a little squeak of apprehension, glancing about with widened eyes.

"You remember how the game sprites could change and recompile data right?" Bob went on.

"Yeah," Matrix acknowledged.

"Don't get bitten by that game sprite, or any of its friends."

The wolf pounced, and Matrix impaled it with his sword, "Got it."

It wasn't five nanos when yellow eyes started to visibly peer at the three sprites.

Starwell let out a fearful shriek. However, she quickly began to pull herself together more as she steeled herself. She looked around the cave quickly, trying to find something, _anything,_ she could use as a weapon.

She was a self-aware User character within the game, after all. She could step outside the boundaries of normal in-game parameters, even to the point of breaking the rules. She was not limited to using the in-game weapons such as swords or arrows.

She snatched up a long, sharp jagged rock from the ground, which seemed to be a fallen stalagmite. She gave it a quick, experimental swing. Her form responded positively to the action as very bit of the experience and in-game programming Starwell had (what little there was) kicked in.

Regular humans outside the Net did not have programming. But having been accepted as a second User, the coding and instincts that a User avatar normally had had been input within her by default.

One of the wolves nearest to her pounced. She ducked and rolled head over heels, allowing it to leap right over her. Both she and it whirled around to face each other at the same time, only it was a bit too slow; she caught it with her make-shift weapon, right in the chest between the front legs.

It whined shrilly in pain, and then it collapsed.

A second wolf knocked Starwell to the ground. She yelped as sharp teeth cut into her arm, but a kick of her legs caused it to loosen its grip. Then she thrust the end of her weapon into its skull, right between the eyes. This caused the stalagmite to break, crumbling into pieces in her hands.

However, it seemed she wouldn't need it anyway; Bob and Matrix were making short work of the remaining wolves.

Matrix moved like an armor-clad gorilla; he was like a humanoid tank. It wasn't long before he slaughtered the last wolf.

To regular sprites or binaries who first entered games where the game sprite's corpses were left behind, it was far beyond disturbing. When a sprite or binary was deleted, they disappeared. What a game would call a death. But there were some games that left behind what is called a corpse. Normal death for sprites or binaries left behind nothing.

Matrix and Bob were not comfortable with the scene they had created. Matrix didn't show his discomfort, though Bob had a forlorn look on his face.

"Is everyone alright?" Bob finally asked. Matrix nodded.

And then Bob turned to Starwell.

"Are you-" he stopped, his eyes focusing on her sharply. It was as if he'd sensed something.

"Bob, what's wrong?" asked Matrix. He looked at the younger sprite, "Bob..." Realization dawned on the Renegade.

"You've been bitten, haven't you?" Bob bent down on one knee near her, frowning slightly as he eyed her injury. There was no bleeding since she was a sprite, but there were puncture marks. A very soft, green glow had already begun to emanate from the deepest area of the wound.

Starwell frowned up at Bob. Her eyes darted warily in Matrix's direction for half a nano; she still wasn't entirely comfortable around him. But it seemed clear that he wasn't going to attack her, at least for the moment.

She pushed herself to her feet and brushed herself off. "Yeah I was bitten, but it doesn't look that bad," she commented after glancing at her arm. She then did a slight double-take when she noticed the odd glow, but she quickly dismissed it. She felt fine, after all.

Her nose wrinkled slightly at the sight of the dead animal bodies around her, but she had seen worse in some of the games she'd played. It didn't really bother Hannah much when she thought of it that way… and Starwell had enough grit in her in-game programming to stomach it now. "Why? Am I gonna turn into a werewolf or something?"

She snorted in amusement at the idea, yet she quickly sobered. Would it be possible for her to change or something while in this game? The thought spooked her.

"You're infected with Lycanthropy," Bob explained, rising. "I don't know what it will do to someone with a Tester Format. But I know what it does to normal sprites and binaries."

He sheathed his sword, and sat on a nearby uprooted root, large enough to act like a chair, "A long time ago, around when I first entered Mainframe, a game cube came down. The game was Neighboring Cruel. See, in the game the User had to maneuver through this city full of zombies. The main purpose of the User was to survive the city, and save survivors, these game sprites that can get attacked by zombie game sprites.

"But this game… it had a rare type of coding. The zombies would bite anyone, be it Mainframer, friendly game sprite or User. And each time, the victim would become like the zombies. Well, I and several others Rebooted as Mercenaries, and our objective was to hunt down the User and even the friendly game sprites. A lot of my friends were lost because of this coding. The game recompiled them as game sprites because of it. Only I and so few actually came out of it."

Bob looked at Starwell. "I'm not sure how recompiling will work with you, but it'll happen."

The girl absorbed this information in silence. On her arm, Gizmo chirped softly as it ran a brief scan on her. This enabled the Keytool to confirm that the Guardian spoke the truth; she _was_ infected and her form had become more integrated into the game because of it.

"Oh boy…" Starwell licked her lips apprehensively.

"...There is something else."

Attention turned to Matrix. He had set his helmet aside and for the first time since Starwell had seen him, his face was no longer concealed. She couldn't help but stare at his eyes; they were so… _different._ One of them looked fairly normal, but the other one was gold and metallic.

A somewhat odd notion popped into Hannah's mind. Was it possible that people in this world got gold eye replacements like some people used to get gold tooth replacements? Then again, that eye looked more like a mechanism than a mere chunk of metal.

Matrix looked serious as he spoke. "When it comes to exploration games, like this, there's always something. Some cure or stop to the game recompiling. If we can find it, we won't have to worry. But the catch is..."

"... Let me guess, we risk the User." Bob stood, "Well, it's better than nothing." Both of them looked in Starwell's direction.

Starwell frowned. She didn't like the sound of this one bit. She eyed the Keytool on her arm again, contemplatively. Hadn't she been able to access the Main Menu function before the attack started? Maybe if she could quit the game…

Or would it be better to cure her illness first? She had no idea what would happen if she exited a game without attending to that. Perhaps it was better to be safe than sorry. She looked at Bob, and then she gave Matrix another wary glance.

"Or if you guys want to go after the User, or... whatever," she said, already moving toward the cave mouth, "go ahead. I can do alright on my own."

"Starwell, wait a nano," Bob said, standing up. He started to follow her.

She froze just outside the cave, and not just because of Bob. Who the hell was she kidding? She barely had any experience points and these guys had already saved her life... twice. "Actually," she said in a meek tone, "I'd rather stick with you guys."

Bob smiled heartedly, giving a little nod of approval. "Good, I think it's better if we stick together."

Behind him, Matrix grunted something incoherent. Starwell didn't like the way he kept eyeing her whenever his glance fell upon her. There was a distinct vibe that rolled off of him, like… what? Dislike? Suspicion?

Bob spoke again, breaking into her thoughts. "One of the good things about exploration games like this is that the select nullification only happens if the User achieves major objectives or harms a Mainframer. Hopefully, if anyone listens to my seminars, no-one will actually engage the User. So, I doubt we have to worry about him for a while.

"Matrix," he addressed his friend, who was coming up from behind to join them, "what do we do about that cure?"

Matrix folded his arms, somewhat awkwardly due to the bulky nature of his armor. "Getting something like that in this game is going to trigger an event," he said. "But there's still time. Bob, how much time does she have?"

"About three in-game days."

"Then we better get moving."

Hannah/Starwell walked with the two sprites, realizing more and more just how much more experienced they were in these matters.

"So," she broke the silence as she walked, "I guess I don't know as much about being in a game as I thought. What happens if we encounter the User, or if we lose?"

Bob drew in a breath. "If we see the User, it would be best to avoid it unless we're sure we have the upper-hand," he answered. "As for what happens when we lose games…" He looked her straight in the eye, as if attempting to enforce an important point that she didn't know. "In most games, you and everyone else gets nullified if you lose."

"What does that mean?" Starwell asked, blinking at the odd term.

"Nullification is what happens to someone who is caught in a game where either the User wins or they are destroyed. This reduces them to a null state," Explained Bob as they walked, "You'll find nulls all over Mainframe. They're small, and worm like, and they drain energy. This is the reason why most exploration type games aren't so much of a big deal, just long, as there usually isn't a main goal to this. That means the User doesn't win a game, it just plays. As long as you don't get in the way, you don't have to worry so much."

"You don't have to be a null if the User wins..." muttered Matrix.

Gizmo was chirping again. After a moment or two, Glitch beeped something in return, to which Gizmo said nothing.

Bob was eyeing Starwell curiously. "Tell me something," he said, "where did your Keytool come from?"

"Uh…" Starwell eyed her arm thoughtfully. "Well…" She licked her lips. "All I know is that… when I started out in my Uncle's System, this little guy came to me and it stuck to my arm like Velcro." She ran a hand through her hair. "It almost felt like it connected with me… inside somehow." She frowned; it felt strange to say that out loud.

Bob nodded at her. "That's what happens when a Keytool chooses its Guardian," he explained, realizing more than ever how little she understood. It was strange; the girl was obviously young, yet she should have been old enough to understand at least a few things. He speculated it had something to do with her Tester Format; he knew nothing about her history or what she'd been through.

"Yeah, well… what do you Guardians do, anyway?" Starwell asked, wanting to hear him state for himself what his job was.

"A Guardian is someone who protects a system. Our code is to mend and defend, and-"

"Oh yeah," Starwell interrupted, "you thought I was a Guardian because I have a Keytool?"

"Well… I did at first," Bob answered. "But according to Glitch your Keytool isn't Guardian, and I believe you're a Tester Format."

"I'm not a Guardian… I don't even belong in Mainframe," Starwell said simply, in a quiet voice. She didn't seem inclined to say much else.

They reached a dirt path. Bob took a moment to check with the map on the game stats through his Keytool.

"According to Glitch, the nearest city should be... that way!" Bob pointed down the Path, "We'll go there and see what happens. But I'll warn you, you'll be meeting passive game-sprites, whatever they say, its in their code and don't contain any real intelligence."

"And you," Matrix directed at Starwell, "Don't try any funny business. One false move..." He let it hang in the air.

Starwell flinched slightly. She glared at him. "Me?" she exclaimed indignantly, pointing at her chest. "Hey, _you're_ the one who attacked me the first time you saw me! Do you have some kind of problem with me?"

Gizmo squawked something almost incoherent on her arm. Starwell raised an eyebrow at it. She received the distinct impression that her Keytool didn't like Matrix very much.

She wasn't sure how she felt about him either, at present.

"If you hadn't noticed, you're considered the Second User in this game," said Matrix sternly, "You could accidentally wipe out or nullify someone."

Starwell gulped, as if she hadn't even thought about this herself. Somehow that caused Matrix to glare all the more sternly at her.

"Enzo," said Bob, "Don't be so hard on her. We're going to do what we can not to let anyone get hurt."

Matrix gave Bob a look, and continued to walk.

"You'll have to forgive him," said Bob, "He's gone through a lot."

Starwell pressed her lips together in a thin line, staring warily at Matrix's back as he walked off. On her wrist, Gizmo altered form just enough to create a shape that resembled a mouth. It then stuck out its tongue and blew a vocal raspberry in Matrix's direction, before returning to its normal shape on her arm.

"Gizmo!" Starwell scolded gently, even if it made her chuckle a little. "Come on, knock off the attitude, I don't think we need to aggravate anybody. He's almost twice as big as I am, after all," she added, casting another wary glance in Matrix's direction.

"I don't think I've seen a Keytool do that on its own before." Bob scratched his head. "Here, let's catch up to Matrix before he gets too far away."

"Okay." Starwell walked alongside Bob, though she stayed a step or two behind him as if she wanted to duck behind him if Matrix chose to get aggressive again.


	8. Chapter 8

The path led into a wide expanse of field, as the forest slowly faded behind. It stretched for miles all around, and in the far distant against the horizon was the shadows of mountains. The path curved in the distance, and what almost appeared to be down below was a medieval city with stone walls surrounding it.

"That's the nearest city," said Bob as he looked over it, "Whitefort."

Hannah cradled the arm containing her Keytool against her chest, almost protectively as she followed the two larger sprites. It was her way of preventing Gizmo from doing anything else, since it was apparent that the Keytool had a... sassy side to its personality. Plus there was the fact that apparently it was her ally and companion, even if she had no idea how it was formed or where it came from.

"Okay, so... what can we expect once we enter the city?" she asked. "Will there be merchants where we can spend in-game money? Will there be characters we can interact with, or... what?" She felt a strong sense of anticipation, as well as nervousness. It was exciting to be able to enter an in-game city as a real character for the first time in her life, but it was also rather scary. Especially since she'd already been threatened by bandits, a golem, and wolves... and she was currently infected with a wolf-sprite bug.

"We'll probably meet a lot of passive game-sprites," said Bob, "We might even find a few ReBooted Mainframers. Just keep an eye out for them and the User."

"You don't have to worry, Bob," said Matrix, his back turned to his other companions, "The cities in these games are friendly zones. The User shouldn't be able to do anything in the open."

"Okay, speaking of the User..." Starwell cleared her throat, deciding that it was time to address something she'd been meaning to bring up at some point. "Well, uh..."

She licked her lips, trying to think of the best way to broach the subject. After all, Matrix had nearly killed her for being a User, apparently... and he had said that she might accidentally nullify someone since the system considered her a User. Not to mention the entire fiasco with Anna Code back in her Uncle's system…

"What exactly do you guys think of me?" she flat-out asked. "I mean, do you believe I am a User?" She honestly didn't know what they thought of her. She figured it was better to get that out in the open sooner rather than later, especially since she needed their help getting back to her Uncle's system.

Assuming, of course, the three of them ever got out of this game.

Bob paused for a moment. "I think you're a young sprite with a Tester Format whose gotten lost on the Net." Bob glanced at Matrix, who didn't stop or turn as they walked. "I don't know what else to say," the Guardian continued, "I'm trying to help though, To Mend and Defend, that's my Guardian Code."

"Then... how do you explain the way the game seems to recognize me as a User?" Starwell asked tentatively. She was still trying to feel him out on his thoughts on the matter. Part of her felt disappointed though, since apparently the explanation she'd tried to give him before the game started had flown over his head. Or maybe his processor had simply interpreted what she said into terms and concepts he was familiar with.

Perhaps it was just as well. If other people in the computer system disliked Users as much as Anna Code seemed to... maybe it was for the best that they thought she was just a strange sprite or something. What if these guys turned on her if they figured out she really was a User? The thought terrified her a bit, especially since Bob was the closest thing she had to a friend at present. She couldn't afford to lose him, especially since he might be her only hope of finding her way Home.

"Probably a system glitch or maybe your Tester Format is meant to simulate a User." Bob shrugged.

"Okay then," Starwell said with a small nod, choosing to accept that answer for now.

On her arm, Gizmo squawked something. It seemed to be some kind of exclamation or protest. "Quiet," she told it. "So," she said, turning back to Bob, "what happens when we get out of this game? Can you help me find my way back to my Uncle's system? I really need to get back there." She stared at him in earnest.

Bob smiled, "I said I'm going to help you, and I meant it. I'll-"

"We're here," said Matrix.

They stood just a mile or so away from the large front gates of the wall to Whitefort. The walls were about fifteen feet high and seemed to be made of stone. The gates were metallic, dark and somewhat dusty but they showed no signs of rust. Beyond the gate they could see a few of the closest structures within and they could vaguely make out a few figures moving about, probably passive game sprites.

"Whoa," Starwell said. "It looks magnificent!" She let out a short breath, clasping her hands together in front of her. Off to the side Bob gave a small smile in her direction; Matrix simply grunted and wanted to keep moving.

Starwell continued to stare even as she followed Bob and Matrix. Seeing a game city as something tangible that she could enter was a lot more exciting than staring at it on a computer monitor. Especially since this would be complete with real-time character interaction that was up close and personal, as well as smells and the ability to touch anything within reach.

However, her awe and admiration were short-lived; a loud noise erupted, causing the three of them to turn toward the noise.

It seemed that there was a pack of aggressive game sprites just outside the city, and they were coming toward them. They looked like large wolves… very similar to what they had faced back at the cave.

"Oh not again," Hannah groaned, not wanting to deal with this. Starwell, on the other hand, tensed and prepared for a fight. "Uh... I don't have a weapon." She thought quickly. "Gizmo! Can you help me out here?"

Without warning, Gizmo formed the shape of a sword in her hand, just the perfect length and weight for her comfort and strength level. "Wow," she breathed. Why hadn't she thought of this before?

Matrix whipped out his bow and fired. A arrow pierced the chest of one of the were-creatures. It didn't even stun it. The creatures crawled on the ground, and growled.

"I'm guessing this is the Event!" said Bob, unsheathing his own sword.

"Yeah!" Matrix fired another arrow. It hit the eye of another werewolf, but because it was merely a Game sprite, the arrow stuck out of its face but did not impede its movement.

Bob swung his sword at one that came too close. The creature knocked his sword away, and showed its teeth.

"Bob!"

Matrix dropped his bow, and drew his blade. He stabbed the werewolf in the chest. It merely turned, and pounced on him.

They hit the ground. Matrix struggled against the beast. He pushed against the creature, and with its great strength, the beast pushed down on him. It sank its teeth into his neck.

Matrix couldn't even scream.

Even though Hannah was mostly in the background now as Alpha Starwell took more and more of a forefront, she was still easily frightened due to a lack of experience-literal experience, and experience points.

However, part of her simply reacted-especially since Bob was currently preoccupied with two creatures that came after him in unison. He wouldn't be able to assist Matrix for at least a few microseconds. She let out a scream that was a deadly war cry, only slightly hysterical, and she jumped on top of the creature that was attacking Matrix. She drove her sword into its back, yanking hard. The creature released Matrix's throat and yelped, allowing Starwell to twist around slice its throat.

This was when she found out that her Gizmo/sword had certain qualities to it; it could become a flaming blade at will, causing an increase of damage. The air filled with the stench of blood and burning fur and flesh as she finished off the creature that had been attacking Matrix.

Bob had just finished off a couple of others by this point, and had engaged a third. Starwell gritted her teeth and took on a third one that came a bit too close for comfort. When she spared a glance in Matrix's direction she saw him gasping and clutching at his throat; he seemed to be recovering.

But had still been bitten. The big, green-skinned sprite had been bitten, just like she had...

A loud howl filled the air as the largest yet of the monsters came toward them. Whether it was simply reacting to its programming to attack, or if it was angered by the death of its companions, it was impossible to say. All that was obvious was that it was feral and it wanted blood.

Actually... it appeared that it was a Boss of a sort. Perhaps it was part of a side-quest, to defeat a specific pack of these creatures or something. She couldn't be sure. Either way, it ended up sending Bob flying through the air with a thrust of its forward paws, and it whirled on Matrix as if to finish him off.

However it couldn't keep up with all of its targets at once; Starwell had the opportunity to slip in and stick its backside with the tip of her sword. It snarled with annoyance, swatting her with its paw; she was knocked several feet back and had the wind knocked out of her.

It leaped into the air, its mouth wide open and its claws spread as it prepared to land on her, poised to rip her face and throat out. "GIZMO, DO SOMETHING!" Starwell screamed as it landed on her.

Gizmo reacted. It changed shape from a sword into a form of pure energy, like a long rope. It quickly snaked around the creature's front legs and long snout, hindering it. The mouth was secured shut and the front legs were pressed together, binding them like an electric rope. The large creature struggled and squirmed, rearing up on its hind quarters as it attempted to free itself from its predicament.

Terror as well as pain caused Starwell to spring to her feet; Hannah was running the show was again, apparently, however briefly. She let out a high-pitched scream as she began to run, almost blindly, in the general direction of the city. She actually forgot about Gizmo and paid no mind to the fact that she was leaving it behind, as well as Matrix and Bob, who were working on finishing off the creature.

She ran through the gate into the great city, barely sparing a glance at a couple of guard-like figures who stood outside. They didn't seem to take much notice of her or care one way or another if she entered or not. She ran down one of the streets, past several houses and a couple of venders, nearly mowing over a few NPCs as she hurried along.

By the time she reached a dark, dank alley, she had pretty much run out of steam. It was unclear if sprites (or whatever she was) had adrenaline rush or if sheer terror had enabled her to run so far, so quickly. She took in several deep breaths and, once she felt her heart stop pounding in her chest, she took a calming breath and examined herself for damage.

She couldn't really see much in the way of damage, although her energy levels felt low and her chest and shoulders hurt. She felt drained and sore.

"Where's my sword?" she murmured to herself, then remembered. "Oh yeah, where's... Gizmo...?" Her eyes widened when she realized she had left it behind.

"Aw shoot," she complained. When was she going to stop being that stupid? If she didn't learn to keep her equipment with her even when she was running for her own safety, she wasn't going to last very long in this world. Then again... she also needed to learn to keep her fear from getting the better of her.

She sighed. It would have been difficult to take Gizmo with her anyway, considering it had literally wrapped itself around that monster to save her life.

She tried to get up, but she ended up collapsing back down again. Apparently she was more drained than she thought.

After a few nano-seconds she heard footfalls approaching. She glanced up hopefully, wondering if Bob and Matrix may have found her. However it wasn't either of them; it was a familiar (if soulless) face.

"Oh, hi there," she greeted the User avatar, even though she knew full well that it couldn't respond to her. Or rather, the person outside of the computer probably couldn't understand her.

It regarded her for a moment, its expressionless features staring at her. She could have sworn that the avatar tipped its head to one side as it contemplated her. Apparently she looked different enough so that whoever was playing the game kept pausing to consider her every time he or she spotted her. Either that or maybe the game truly was registering her as a second player.

The elf avatar seemed to consider her a moment longer, as though the User was trying to figure her out.

"Hey, I really wish you could understand me," Hannah breathed, pushing herself to her feet. She then took a step toward the User avatar. "I mean... you out there, in the computer chair. If only you could..."

Could what? Even if the human outside the computer could understand her... what could he/she do? That person didn't even know her Uncle or anything about the device he was experimenting with.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Matrix pushed himself to his knees, dazed. The fight had gone into a blur. He remembered getting pounced by the game sprite, he remembered the teeth that had sunk into his neck, and then... he stood. The Lootable bodies of werewolves laid all around him in pools of blood. His helmet, his sword and his bow were lost in the fight. Bob was next to him. He looked drained, his blue skin was paler than normal.

There was one more of them left: the pack leader. It was tied by an electrical rope, grunting and struggling against its bounds. The more it fought against the rope the more the restraining cord seemed to stretch-but then a sharp current rippled through the rope, causing the beast to go temporarily limp.

"Where's Starwell?" asked Bob, tired. He eyed the wolf with a wary glance, taking note of the altered Keytool that held firm.

"...I don't know," Matrix murmured.

The pack leader recovered from its shock and began to struggle again. It twisted and writhed in its bonds, snorting through its nose. Its feral eyes were wide, laced more with aggravation than desperation.

Matrix hauled himself off the ground and walked toward it. "Enzo, don't get too close," Bob protested, but the Renegade ignored his friend. Matrix reached out to the game sprite and touched the energy wire. It changed, and wrapped around his arm.

The beast was free. Matrix stumbled, and landed on the ground. The creature growled at him. And then it bounded off.

"Matrix!" Bob was at his side. Matrix blinked a few times. He found that the rope had changed into a Keytool, resting in his palm. It whirled and beeped. Matrix knew it was not happy.

Gizmo continued to squawk for another few nanoseconds. Glitch seemed to respond on Bob's arm, though it was unclear whether Glitch was chattering because it was being spoken to or whether it was simply trying to get Gizmo to calm down.

All of a sudden Gizmo changed shape into the approximate form of a mouth again. This time there was no tongue to deliver a raspberry, however; there were only razor-sharp teeth. It wasted no time biting Matrix squarely on the palm.

Matrix cried out, and tried to pry the changed Keytool from his hand.

Bob held out his arm. "Glitch! A-" He didn't get a chance to finish the command.

"I'm TIRED OF THIS!" Matrix glared at the mouth, "Gun! Lock Target!" His golden eye glowed and moved. It turned in his head, and the letter M acted as a pupil. It turned red. A red hologram appeared on the changed Keytool. It was a red M, but the hologram did not come from his eye. It came from Matrix's bow, which floated in the air just a few feet away.

The bow's form rippled, and changed into a gun. It resembled a submarine gun. "Fire!" Gun fired. A single bullet pinged off the Keytool-formed mouth, and it released its grip. Gun flew into Matrix's hand, and he aimed at the Keytool.

Gizmo let out a shrill hiss, and then it returned to its normal Keytool form for a moment. It then whirled and beeped again, possibly giving the Keytool equivalent of spouting off profanities.

"Matrix, stop!" Bob moved forward, stepping over the Keytool. "Let me-" The Guardian frowned, eyeing the Renegade's throat. "Oh no, you've been bitten, too."

"Yeah." Matrix fingered his windpipe and traced the indents of tooth marks. The bitten area no longer hurt but it did feel uncomfortable. "Guess we better find that cure," he muttered with determination. He took another brief glance around and then allowed Gun to re-attach itself to his hip.

Bob nodded. "We'll find it," he vowed. "We also have to find Starwell."

"She ran off again. Figures."

"She's just a kid. I doubt she's even been in a game like this before," Bob shrugged. "Come on."

"Okay," Matrix grunted with a nod.

Gizmo hissed, a noise obviously aimed at the big green sprite. Matrix shot it a glare, but otherwise did not acknowledge it.


	9. Chapter 9

Starwell proceeded to follow the User avatar through the city. She figured that, perhaps, she could stick with it for a little while, though she knew she was clinging to the vain hope that the User on the outside would understand the predicament she was in.

Part of her was a little worried, though. Bob and Matrix had warned her to stay away from the User, and Matrix already didn't like her because the game recognized her as a User. What would happen if they caught her following it around?

_Well, _she thought, _I'll just deal with that when it comes._ She had to admit that the city was a beautiful place, even if it was merely a collection of graphics and programming parameters. Then again… to the sprites, it might as well have been real.

"If I ever get out of here," Hannah murmured to herself, "I'll never be able to play a game the same way again." Bob's talk of nullification and Matrix's dislike toward her had forced her to look at things in a new light. Back in her own world, people played games all the time without any notion of what went on inside the computer, or…

Heck, they had no idea there were any people living inside the systems at all. How could any of them know?

"Man, I wish I could tell you about Bob and Matrix," she murmured to the User avatar, as she trotted along behind it. "I bet you'd be completely shocked if you had any idea. Then again," she commented thoughtfully, "I bet you have seen them before. You just think they're in-game characters. Which… they are right now, but they're so much more!"

She sighed. The User avatar stopped at a merchant vender and seemed to be browsing through an buy/sell inventory. It probably wanted to purchase better weapons or something. She leaned casually against the stall, simply studying it as she waited for it to finish. "Man I wish you could understand me," she commented yet again.

Part of her knew she should simply give this up. She was stuck, and she technically just a lost sprite right now, nothing more. Bob didn't believe that she was a User, at least not yet, and there was no way to get the attention of the outside world from here. She was more or less on her own, although she was better off with Bob's help.

If she could find him again.

"Come on," she whispered, almost desperately. "Isn't there some way I can make you understand?" She stared earnestly at the User avatar, as if it itself could somehow give her the answer she was looking for, or provide some kind of in-game miracle.

However, it simply finished up its business, equipped a better mage staff, and then took off in a different direction. Still unable to give up on her stubborn quest, she proceeded to follow it for a little longer.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Guardian and the Renegade were loaded into Whitefort. Bob had taken Starwell's Keytool and placed it on his armor's belt. It didn't seem so ready to attack him, and it kept Matrix's Gun away from it. He had to stop him from doing anymore harm to it. The last thing needed was it going rogue, as it had the capacity for.

According to Glitch, Starwell had run into the city somewhere. She needed to be found, especially since the User was inside the city as well. They passed so few passive game sprites, the in-game night-time seemed to have effects on everything rather than for show. Bob had known games to implement this kind of features, though few.

Matrix followed close behind. Gun remained in easy-reach on his thigh, and he gave glares to any game sprite that came near.

Bob stopped suddenly as something caught his eye. Unfortunately, so did Matrix. He spotted what Bob was looking at. He growled. "YOU!" Matrix whipped out Gun and rushed forward. He pushed past Bob, and slammed into his target. He had Gun aimed under the User Avatar's chin. The elf staggered as Matrix's other hand grabbed the front of its mage robe.

"Matrix! Stop!" Bob exclaimed, extending his arm.

"Oh my gosh-HEY!" Starwell exclaimed. She wasn't quite sure what she was doing, but she had an inclination to protect the User Avatar... even if it wasn't really a person. She grabbed Matrix's arm, giving him a little push to get him to back off.

Gizmo shrieked on Bob's belt, attempting to pull itself loose. It had detected its proper owner and wanted to return to her.

The User Avatar, meanwhile, acted in self-defense; it raised its staff and cast a temporary freezing spell on Matrix, causing both him and Starwell (who was still clutching his arm) to become temporarily crusted in immobilizing ice.

Then, apparently deciding not to take any chances (the User's experience level still wasn't very high yet, most likely) the elf mage sprinted off in another direction.

That was when one of the nearby guards, a game sprite, spoke. "No fighting in the city," he said, though he did not draw his blade. "This is your first and only warning." Evidently, the guard sprites were programmed to keep the peace within the city.

The ice spell wore off within a few seconds. Starwell gasped and collapsed on the ground. Matrix shuddered a bit as a few final ice chunks fell away from his bitmap and vanished, though he remained on his feet.

The guard gave them a final glance, then walked away.

Gizmo practically ripped itself off of Bob's belt and flew to Starwell, attaching itself to her arm. It beeped at her insistently.

"Ugh," Starwell grunted, eyeing the Keytool warily. "Yeah, I'm okay. I think. Man that was cold!" She shivered.

Matrix had finished recovering; he pulled Gun on Starwell. "Why did you stop me!?" he demanded. "I nearly had the User!"

Bob rushed to Matrix and Starwell, "Matrix that's enough!" he said firmly. "Look, we're all tired. You and Starwell have something that needs to be cured immediately, but that is no reason to fight with each other. We've only got three game days-"

"Two." Matrix looked up. The sky was changing from its black and dark blue color to purples and oranges. A yellow disc was slowly coming up in the horizon.

Gizmo let out another shrill hiss, and somehow that was the final thing Starwell needed to lose her last nerve.

"Just shut up!" she snapped at it. It squeaked, then remained silent.

She gazed up at the sky for a moment, taking in the sight of the changing color and the rising sun. "I'm sick of all of this," she stated, her voice trembling a little. "All I did was play around on my Uncle's computer and somehow I ended up _here. _I'm sick of this stupid game, I'm sick of all of this fighting, _and I just want to go home!"_

When she finished her rant she exhaled loudly and stamped her foot. It... made her feel a little better, to get that out of her system.

Matrix forced his arm down.

Bob placed a hand on Starwell's shoulder, and looked into her eyes, "I'm going to help you. I'm going help you survive the game, and I'm going to get you home. No matter what it takes."

Around them, passive game sprites began the day cycle. Bob gently gave Starwell's shoulder a squeeze, "Lets find somewhere to rest and think. According to Glitch, there should be an Inn somewhere- There!" Bob pointed at a building nearby. The sign on it said "The Green Wyrm".

Hannah inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "Fine," she said in a calmer tone, shrugging away from Bob's touch. "Sounds good to me, I guess." She slowly moved away from them, toward the Inn that Bob had indicated. She opened the door and stepped inside, holding it open just long enough for Bob to hold it open on his own and for Matrix.

Starwell then plunked herself down in a bench at one of the tables. She placed her elbows on its smooth, polished surface and then rested her face against her hands, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. _Gosh_ she was tired. If nothing else, she needed an energy boost.

The Guardian eyed her for a moment and seemed to read her mind. "Matrix, why don't you order some Game Energy? Please?" asked Bob.

Matrix grunted, and headed to the merchant game sprite at the bar. Bob sat down next to Starwell, who looked at him but didn't really move or respond.

"There have been a couple of times that I've been in an in-game inn," Bob said conversationally. "Even slept in one when the User was being particularly slow..." He cleared his throat, "Don't worry about the game-energy drinks, they're a little stronger than net energy drinks but they'll do the job. I'd be careful about drinking them too fast or chugging them. Sometimes they have ill effects that the game intended them, and other times they'll cross your processors by how powerful a drink they are."

Matrix returned with three tankards, likely filled with what the game had identified as beer.

Starwell acknowledged Bob's words with a slight nod, watching warily as the drinks were set down on the table before them. She looked at Matrix cautiously, still feeling a bit uncertain about him. She was only slightly reassured when he sat down in the opposite bench and glugged his drink as if he was used to the stuff.

She tentatively spread her fingers around the large cup's rim and picked up her drink, bringing it to her nostrils to sniff it. She made a face, then adjusted her grip and took a tiny sip. She grimaced.

Still, at least she was being allowed to drink here, right? She smirked, the rebellious part of her liking the fact that she could drink at age sixteen in here. Back home she would have to wait until she was twenty-one. Ignoring the fact that it was her rebellious attitude that got her turned into a sprite and stuck inside a computer in the first place, she tipped her head back and took a big gulp.

This resulted in what felt like her brain going on overload, and she began to cough and splutter.

"Hey now, don't gulp it down," Bob chuckled, catching her cup and setting it down as she started to drop it. He took a sip of his drink, "This isn't even the strongest game-drink, but it will make you recount your digits."

Matrix grumbled something incoherent.

Starwell inhaled sharply and managed to stop coughing. She blinked a couple of times, clearing the fuzz out of her brain. "Yeah, no kidding," she said, her voice slightly raspy. Her throat did not feel raw but it did feel like an electrical current had flowed down it the wrong way or something. And she was supposed to be able to consume energy now, right?

"I remember when Dot first had one of these," continued Bob, "She ended up spitting the stuff on me. It was the funniest most embarrassing moment I ever had. It was only later that I found out that Dot had actually remade the bits of code in the drinks to improve the energy-drinks at the Diner."

"The fastest food in Mainframe." Matrix gave a small smile, just barely hidden by the tankard at his lips.

"That's nice," Starwell commented flatly. Her mood was improving somewhat with the energy drink; it had definitely increased her energy levels and made her feel a bit more energized and alert. It certainly had a different and stronger effect than tea or coffee had on a human in the real world.

She took another tentative sip, and then she set the drink down for the moment. "Look," she said quietly, staring down into the brownish liquid as she turned the tankard around between her hands, "I wasn't trying to do anything stupid out there, just so you know. I just wanted to see if I could... talk to the User."

It seemed stupid trying to explain this to them. She just hoped they would understand, somehow. "Don't know why I bothered," she grumbled, more to herself than to them. "He doesn't listen to me. He doesn't understand me." She glared at her drink.

"...You're not the only one who's tried." Bob coughed for a moment, and got comfortable, "Back in the Academy, when I was a 1.0 Guardian version, I experienced one of my first major games. It was this basic game known as Puck-Guy. Basically, you're in this maze, and the User's objective is to collect these small floating squares. Well, the rest of us had to go after the User. When I first saw it, I tried to talk to it...

"When I woke up, the game had already ended. My teacher nearly had a fit with me, told me that I was nearly deleted in my efforts and that the User, no matter the avatar, does not speak to anyone, and does not care about our lives.

"I didn't believe it. I still don't believe it. I know the User winning a game is a horrible thing, and that the User always plays to win no matter what. But still, I want to contact the User. I want to know... why. What's the reason for all of this?" Bob gestured to the inn room, "For viruses, for everything."

He looked into his drink, and sighed, "I want to know for sure that the User lives outside of the Net or the Web, and if it implements games for pleasure."

Starwell found herself listening to his words intently. She felt a sick feeling creeping into her stomach as they sank in. She had played games for pleasure many, many times... what happened during all of the times she won? She knew nothing about programming, so she had never created any viruses, nor did she know anyone who had. But since viruses could wreck havoc on computers and cause inconvenience for Users... what did they do the sprites?

How many stupid, careless things had she, and everyone like her, done to people like these, all because they had no idea that these people were here or what their antics did to their world?

_I could answer some of your questions,_ she thought, licking her lips as she stared down at her drink. _But I know you don't even believe I'm a User._ Her face fell as she continued to stare into her half-full tankard.

Bob interpreted Starwell's fall of face. "Hey now, don't worry," he said, "We'll get you and Matrix cured, and be out of the game before you know it."

"That's not what's bothering me," she admitted vaguely. Starwell sighed, and lifted the drink to her lips once again. In a few small, careful swallows, she finished it off. She wasn't inclined to say any more, since they'd probably think she was crazy or lying.

Gizmo seemed to nuzzle against her arm, almost comfortingly. At least it seemed to believe that she was a User... or did it? Maybe it just liked her a lot. She would have to ask it later in private if it believed she was a User... if she got the chance.

"Here, I'll get some refills," said Bob, in higher spirits than he was earlier, "I'll be right back."

Matrix crossed his arms, his elbows leaned on the table and his eyes closed. It almost appeared like he was napping.

Starwell studied Matrix for a long moment. "So," she said in a light, conversational tone, "uh... are you okay? I saw that wolf bite you earlier, before I..." She glanced away, embarrassed. "Before I ran off."

Matrix opened one eye at her, and it did not convey emotion. He grunted, shifted on his elbows, and returned to his resting state.

"Okay…" Starwell said awkwardly. She cleared her throat. "You seem fine. Um…" She glanced around the Inn again, trying to find something to say or something she could comment on. "This is a nice place, isn't it? Do you think we'll be staying here a while?"

Matrix gave no response.

"Okay then," Starwell mumbled, abandoning any attempt at small talk. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the big sprite. He didn't seem to like her much, nor did he want to talk to her. She got the impression he only tolerated her because of Bob, which she supposed was okay with her.

Just as long as he didn't try to kill her.

Gizmo beeped and shifted, perhaps about to do or say something to convey its displeasure at Matrix's attitude. A brief glare from Starwell, however, stayed the Keytool.

"I'm back!" Bob carried three more tankards. Just as he neared the table a game-sprite accidentally bumped into him, knocking one of the tankards out of his hand.

Matrix moved in a flash. Nobody had realized what had happened until a corpse was on the ground, and Matrix held Gun pointed in his hand. The game-sprites reacted accordingly. They ran, one of them screamed, "Murderer!" and a few of them simply begged for mercy as they crouched and hid.

"Enzo..." Bob's eyes were wide.

Matrix blinked, and he faltered. He looked at the corpse. He didn't show pity or even shame. But one look at Bob, and his face became uncharacteristically regretful. "I'm sorry, Bob. I just... reacted."

Starwell stared at the Renegade. She had already seen how quickly Matrix could move when threatened or attacked, and she was definitely no stranger to the idea that he could harm and kill. It was only due to Bob's presence and apparent influence with him that she felt okay to be around him.

Yet this action caused her to become more uncertain. Perhaps it was just her being startled by the aggressive action as well as her lingering guilt over what she and her fellow Users had been doing to the sprites and their systems that caused her to stand up in a swift, abrupt motion.

"Excuse me," she said stiffly, with an uncertain-almost fearful-glance at Matrix. "I need some air." She turned away from Matrix, not even looking at him or Bob as she began to march in the general direction of the door.

Combative game-sprites came through the door. They were in iron armor with regular iron swords, but their coding made them more fierce than any User.

Guards.

"In the name of the law, stop criminal scum!" one of them guards shouted.

Matrix aimed Gun at them, and fired. This wasn't quick reaction, this was survival. He wasn't going to be stopped by game-sprites. The bullet killed the Guard at the front.

"Aw crap not again!" Hannah practically whined, although Starwell was already on the defensive. "Gizmo, sword!" At her command the Keytool once again took the shape of a sword, already flaming. She gripped the hilt with both hands, this time determined not to drop it.


	10. Chapter 10

More guards were coming in; she ducked for cover. Patrons screamed and the few who had remained indoors were running out the back. The bartender ducked down behind the bar. Starwell ran toward the back of the Inn, knocking over a table and taking cover behind it. "Gizmo, change into something else," she said in a low tone. "Maybe... a gun? Yeah, a gun!"

It whirred and then did as it was told. It became a shining steel pistol of some sort, which she aimed carefully as she peered above the table. She fired off a shot, blowing of the guards' heads off. She then fired a second shot, missing Bob's head by centimeters and shattering the front window. She blanched. "Oops," she gulped. "Sorry Bob!"

Matrix fired again. Something pierced his hand. A long arrow shaft stuck from the back. He dropped Gun, and pulled the arrow out.

Two more hit him, one in the thigh, the other in the stomach. His leg gave way, and he landed on his good knee.

"You are under arrest," said a surviving guard, a bow and arrow in the game-sprite's hands, "You will pay your fine or be sent to prison for five days."

Matrix growled something, and the game-sprite took that as a jail option.

"Matrix!" Bob yelled, as a brief flash occurred. Both the guard and Matrix were gone, downloaded somewhere else entirely.

Starwell fired another shot, missing once again. Her eyes went wide when she heard the voice of one of the guards, telling Matrix to choose between two options.

Now the guards were headed toward her.

"Aw crap!" She exclaimed. It suddenly dawned on her that if she had just gone outside or stayed out of the way, this wouldn't be happening to her right now. The one time that she _should_ have run off and gotten away from the ruckus, she didn't. All because she'd wanted to prove that she wouldn't run away every time the action started.

"Gizmo," she sighed, "get back on my arm." The Keytool obediently returned to its default shape, and returned to her arm.

She yelped as an arrow struck her in the chest, then she looked up to see a guard staring down at her, his sword drawn.

"You are under arrest," the guard stated, reciting the same scripted game-dialogue as he had with Matrix. "You will either pay a fine or be sent to jail for five days.

Starwell bowed her head. "I have no money," she stated. She then squeezed her eyes shut, huddling the arm with Gizmo attached close to her chest, steeling herself for whatever was coming next.

Bob stood alone.

He didn't attack the game-sprite guards. It would more than likely impede his progress. By Glitch's standards, Starwell and Matrix were still in the city, just in a secure location.

He knew he had little time too. There was such a short time to cure both of them of the Lycanthropy. And he needed to find the cure.

So, he'd have to ask around.

And five days...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

...With only two left.

Matrix woke. He was in a small dark room. The dull-colored stones in the walls and the floor were uneven and cold against his skin. He had been relieved of all his items, his armor, and his weapons. The only thing he had on was the tight in-game underwear that came with his ReBoot, and his icon. He wasn't even sure where Gun was.

He moved around his cell, observing his surroundings as he walked. Chains dangled from the walls, a partially broken wooden table stood nearby, and a small barred window at the top of the wall. He walked to the front of the cell. A firm push on the door confirmed that it was locked, and it wasn't the kind that he could simply bend or break with his strength or speed. He was stuck.

And just across from the cell, he found a familiar face.

Starwell lay flat on the ground, feeling frigid and somewhat stiff from having lain in one position for far too long. For a long moment she stared up at the ceiling, as if trying to remember who she was and where she was. She grunted as she rolled over onto her side, her eyes taking notice of her sole companion in the cell.

It was Matrix. It actually took her a moment to recognize him, mostly because he was no longer wearing his armor. In fact… he seemed to be in his briefs. She then became self-consciously aware of something. Her outer clothing had apparently been removed, leaving her in her bra and a set of skimpy panties.

Her eyes flew wide. She looked up at Matrix again and let out a little shriek as she sat up, wrapping her arms around herself as best she could.

She let out a scream. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" she shouted at top volume. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME WHILE I WAS UNCONCIOUS?!" She scrambled backward across the floor until she bumped into the cell wall behind her.

"What?" Matrix blinked. Then he blinked again. He rolled his eyes, and sat down on a higher stone on the floor, high and large enough to act as a seat. "Like I would do anything to you while you're not processing."

Starwell didn't seem so convinced... yet. "Then what am I doing in my underwear?!" she demanded with a shriek. She was still too disoriented and stunned to think about what was going on rationally. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CLOTHES?!"

"Oh stop screaming…" Matrix grunted, annoyed by all the shrieking over nothing. "The game took them from you when you were loaded here." He unconsciously rubbed his neck. His normal green skin had darkened around that area. Just under his fingers, his neck glowed slightly, which dimmed repeatedly. After effects.

He glanced up at the window, momentarily wondering where Bob was at the moment.

Starwell was now huddled in the corner, ignoring the cold stone that bit into her back and chilled her skin as she used her knees and arms to try and conceal herself from view. Her eyes darted around.

Back in the real world it would have been against the law to put such a big, burly man in a room with a sixteen-year-old, especially in their underclothes. But once again, she was finding that things were very, very different here.

She was completely out of her element now, more than ever. The sprite side of her seemed to take a step or two back as the frightened Hannah took more of a forefront, even just for a few nano-clicks.

"I wanna go home," she practically whimpered. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Matrix clenched his hands, his digits digging into his palms. Memories of Game-Jumping came back, the desire for home, and the hopelessness as he and AndrAIa had found one nearly desolated system after another.

He closed his eyes. "AndrAIa..." He wondered if he would be able to see her again after his code was recompiled.

Starwell sucked in a breath through her nose, trying to calm herself. _Cut it out,_ she told herself. _You know what happens in these RPGs when you get stripped of everything. Your character gets stripped. Literally._

She squeezed her eyes shut, then forced them to open. She glanced at Matrix just as he uttered a word. Or was it a name?

"What's AndrAIa?" she asked in spite of herself.

Matrix left his memories for the moment, and grumbled. He would have dismissed the young sprite, but not now. Even he knew that. "AndrAIa is a very good friend of mine," he spoke, "We've been through just about everything together."

"Oh..." Starwell licked her lips nervously, though she was beginning to get a grip on herself and her emotions. "You must miss her a lot right now," she commented thoughtfully.

"She is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me." Matrix glanced up toward the window, releasing a small breath through his slightly parted lips. If only she could be here with him now, if only he could touch her one more time…

Starwell's voice cut into his reverie. "All of my friends and family are... well, back home," she said. "I gotta get back to my Uncle's system before I can see any of them again." She glanced at the bite mark on her arm; it was definitely glowing a bit. "Yeah, _if_ I see them again."

Matrix knew the feeling of homelessness. How he and AndrAIa had spent what to them had been a very long time. He didn't even realize that hardly any time had passed in normal Net time. The realization that he had grown up, and that Dot or Bob or anyone of his old friends and family had hardly aged, that was both heart lifting and crippling.

He scratched at his neck. He felt like he needed to gag. "I know the feeling."

"I don't think you do!" Starwell snapped, beginning to despair. She wasn't even sure how she'd managed to hold herself together this long. Maybe it was due to the fact that she had kept moving nonstop, plus there was Bob's positive attitude and encouragement. But now...

She seemed to forget that she was nearly naked as she stamped her feet and stood. The cold floor and wall were getting a bit too chilly and uncomfortable against her skin anyway.

"I don't even know how I got myself into this mess," she said bitterly as she marched toward the window. She craned her neck to look out, as if wishing she could catch a glimpse of home somehow, just once. "My Uncle told me not to touch anything, and now..."

Her voice faltered. Somehow it was finally sinking in that she could very well be stuck in this state for the rest of her life. Even if she got out of the game... what if she never found her way back to her Uncle's system? Or worse yet, what if he unplugged the conversion device so that she couldn't get back? Or what if he turned off his computer for a long period of time?

She thought of her parents. Would she ever see them again? Would she ever see her school or talk to her friends back home again? Despite what an annoying brat he was, she found she even missed her brother, Greg. She would far rather have an argument with him over his finicky attitude toward Hannah's cooking or the way he spent too much time on the Xbox than be stuck in this predicament.

Tears of anger and helplessness began to stream freely down her cheeks. "It's not fair!" she shouted, turning and marching toward the locked door. She slammed her fists against it. It hurt. She did it again anyway, just to get it out of her system. "I want to get out of here and go back to where everything is normal! I WANT TO GO HOME!"

She slammed against the door for good measure, then buried her face against it. She began to sob quietly.

"Screaming is not going to get you anywhere." Matrix leaned back, so that his back was against the wall. He crossed his arms, and let his eyes close.

Hannah/Starwell didn't even look at him. She put a hand over her mouth, attempting to muffle the sounds as she continued to cry. In truth, she was embarrassing herself a little now.

_Come on, get it together,_ the rational part of her mind urged the part of her that just wanted to fall to pieces. At times, it almost felt like "Hannah" and "Starwell" were at odds with each other. It was possible that although she was now Alpha Starwell, the being that the matter-converter had made her... well, she was still Hannah. All of the memories and experiences from the real world, along with what made her _human_, were still a part of her.

Hannah did not belong here and she wanted to either completely freak out and abandon hope, or go home immediately. Alpha Starwell wanted to kick her in the tail shaft, tell her to get over herself, and get through this so that she could continue to learn more about this alien environment so she _could_ find a way home.

_That's the goal you're aiming for,_ Starwell told Hannah firmly in her mind. This was starting to make Hannah wonder if she would need to see a therapist after this; she was technically talking to herself inside her mind. Then again, everybody did that to some fashion. _You are going to wait out these next five days,_ Starwell continued, _because you have no choice. You can either act like a big baby and cower in the corner like a pathetic little thing, or you can pull yourself together and try to do something useful._

Hannah squeezed her eyes shut again, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. She wiped her eyes and her cheeks as a newfound calm and determination seemed to settle over her; Alpha Starwell was in control again.

"Okay," she whispered, pushing herself away from the door. She glanced at Matrix, then she began to pace the cell a bit just to move around and have something to do. Starwell no longer cared that she was nearly naked; she had grasped the concept that things were _that_ different in the game setting. If she didn't care much when her characters got stripped in the games she played back home, why should she care here? Nobody was going to look at her or do anything to her, and she'd probably get her clothes and everything back once she got out anyway.

_Clothes and everything..._

Her eyes widened as she remembered something. She glanced sharply at her arm, realizing for the first time that her Keytool was gone. "Oh my gosh," she exclaimed, looking around frantically as if she might find it on the floor somewhere. "What happened to Gizmo?!" Her newfound calm was temporarily replaced with slight panic.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Bob was running outside of Whiterun, his armor chinking softly as he moved. It was a few errands for quest-giving game-sprites. Unless the game had levels, he wasn't supposed to activate them, let alone talk to them. It would have gone against his code. He managed to bypass that, however. He was trying to mend and defend the somewhat missing friends, and sometimes that meant you bent the rules a bit. This was about the only way to help them, at least to stop them from recompiling into something worse.

Glitch beeped and whirled. Bob stopped and asked, "What is it?" More beeps and whirls.

Then a different but familiar set of beeps answered.

"Gizmo?" Bob began to hurry toward the sound, trampling through some tall ferns and grass as he made haste.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Gizmo was not happy in the slightest. When Alpha Starwell had been placed under arrest and downloaded to another location, Gizmo itself had broken the game rules and rebelled against the notion of being stored in a memory block along with the rest of Starwell's and Matrix's confiscated inventory. The raw code for their equippable belongings had been placed in a memory buffer where they would automatically be retrieved and returned to Matrix and Starwell once their jail time was over.

However, Gizmo had simply freed itself from the memory buffer and ended up in a random location. For a period of time it simply sat there on the ground, crying out for a little while until it finally heard something promising.

Glitch, the other Keytool, was nearby. That meant that Starwell's current favorite ally, Bob, was also very close by. Gizmo shrieked shrilly, practically bouncing on the ground in an attempt to get both of their attention. Glitch responded readily, and Gizmo gave a burst of gratitude. It had been found! That meant that they could help Gizmo get back to Starwell.

Bob approached the grassy patch on which the Keytool sat. It practically bounced as he neared. "Hey, Gizmo," he greeted it as he picked it up. He then placed it on his other arm for safe-keeping. While the Keytool did not exchange code-possibly because it was Starwell's-it did rest easy. Sorta.

He already knew that it was peeved about him not going after Starwell right away. He couldn't, there was things to do at the moment and he wouldn't have to worry about Starwell or Matrix at the moment. They would be safe, for now. Long enough for him to find a cure.

Mostly, he had to convince himself. He could go in, guns or rather swords, blazing. But that wouldn't help anyone. He had to find a cure...


	11. Chapter 11

Starwell had more or less accepted the fact that she was without Gizmo and that she would have to do without clothing for the next five days or so. Unless Bob could work some kind of miracle to get her and Matrix out.

"You know," she sighed as she sat down at the table, "I think... we might as well talk or something while we're stuck in here. If I can't do _something_ while we're here, I am going to go crazy."

She eyed a rickety chair at the broken table in the middle of the cell. She touched the back support and gave it a little shake, testing it. She then chose to test it with her full weight by sitting on it; it seemed to hold up her weight... for now. It did creak a little bit, so she decided to keep as still as possible.

She made a face when she eyed the table in front of her, deciding not to rest her hands or elbows on it. It looked filthy. "Tell me something," she said in a conversational tone. "The... game seems to think I'm a User. What do you think I am?"

Since she didn't really get an answer from Matrix when she had originally asked that question, she hoped he would give her an answer now. It seemed obvious that he wasn't going to kill her or harm her in any way while they were in this cell, but she still wanted to be safe and know what his opinion of her was. Besides, she was also very curious-not to mention anxious and a bit bored.

Matrix was silent for a moment. "You're probably what Bob said," he deadpanned, "A sprite with a tester format, lost in the Net. Likely you were made by the Guardians to simulate a User. Or at least be identified as one."

Matrix heard himself drone. His neck itched, but he ignored it.

"I see," Starwell said slowly. "Well," she said with a forced laugh, trying to sound like she was kidding around, "What would you think if I said I believe I really am a User?" Her smile was strained. She knew she was treading in dangerous water here.

"I'd say you suffered a head crash." Matrix shifted on the wall and tried to get comfortable.

"Well..." Starwell tentatively pursued the topic in spite of herself. "Why does it seem so impossible that I could be a User? Don't you think it might be possible that a User could somehow, someday, come into a system?"

Even as she said those words they sounded ridiculous, even to her own ears. Seriously, if she had not been converted into a game sprite herself and gone through all of this, would she have believed anybody else if they said they had gone inside a computer and met some people inside? She would have thought they were crazy or telling a funny story.

Why should any of them believe that a real User could set foot inside a system?

_I just want to go home and forget this ever happened,_ she thought. Once she was back in the real world, it was everybody for themselves, just like it was before. She still felt bad about the User ignorance that threatened the lives of sprites, but Matrix and Bob seemed pretty good at surviving. That meant others were, too.

_When I get out of here, I'm never playing any games again,_ she vowed to herself. _Or if I do, I'm losing on purpose._

"You and Bob can exchange theories later." Matrix took a breath, and knew there was no sleeping any time soon.

"Yeah, okay." Starwell sighed and glanced up, out the window. "I guess you're not very talkative," she said with a little shrug.

She sighed and stamped her foot as she got out of the chair. "Ugh," she grunted, "this is going to drive me nuts. I'm already going stir-crazy!"

"Its a processor-game, don't think about it too much." Matrix used his eye to target different areas in the room. Finding combat areas, hiding areas, and vantage points. He'd do this to any place that he had been in, when bored that is.

Starwell sighed and returned to her rickety chair. "Have you ever been in a spot like this before?" she asked. "In jail, I mean. How do you pass the time?"

Part of her knew she was being annoying, asking all of these questions. But this was her first game inside a computer, and she had never been in jail before, in reality outside a system or inside a system.

"You don't think about it too much, and you keep yourself occupied." Matrix had been in situations where he had been put somewhere. Most of those situations, he broke out and possibly broke the game too.

Then there were the sit and wait times. He didn't have to like them, but he dealt with them the best he could.

"Then let's talk," Starwell insisted, leaning forward and placing her palms against the table. Under normal circumstances she probably would have preferred to move around, especially to put more space between herself and Matrix. Most especially after he killed an innocent passerby back in the Inn.

Then again... there was something that she had noticed, something she was curious about. She had almost overlooked it and nearly forgotten about it in all the ruckus, but in a situation like this... there wasn't much you could do besides think.

"Tell me about Bob," she requested, eyeing him curiously. She had seen the way he looked regretful about killing that game sprite, only after he'd seen Bob's reaction. "Is he... I don't know, like your cousin or uncle or something?" If the difference in skin color was any indication, she wouldn't assume that they were brothers or anything like that. Then again, who knew when it came to sprites?

"Bob?" The large man got an odd look on his face. He was silent for a moment, as if unsure what to say or how to begin. "He… he's a Guardian," Matrix began, hesitantly. "And he's... Well..."

Somehow, perhaps due to some kind of intuition or maybe just the look in his eyes, Starwell could tell what he was trying to say. "He's your hero," she murmured quietly.

"Yeah." Matrix unconsciously touched the lower lid of his implanted eye. "Bob came into Mainframe right after my Dad was... After the explosion of the Twin city." Matrix leaned against the wall and stared into the ceiling, "He had been in Mainframe after that, beating games and saving everyone multiple times, with my sister Dot, and Phong, and all of them.

"I wanted to be like him when I was young. Me and Frisket-he's my dog-would get ourselves into trouble, enter games when we weren't supposed to, wander into the wrong places. I tried my best to be like him."

Matrix explained Megabyte and Hexadecimal, the two resident viruses at the time. He told of the Viral Wars.

He became somber as he spoke about Bob being lost to the Web. And he spoke of the last time he was in Mainframe as the younger brother of Dot, the Little Enzo Matrix.

"But... Because of my Guardian Code, I entered games, along with AndrAIa and Frisket. My last one in Mainframe at the time... We lost.

"We entered game sprite mode, and let the game take us elsewhere instead of being nullified. I lost my eye during that game. For me, AndrAIa and Frisket, it was a very long time before we made it back to Mainframe. I didn't realize that we compiled faster in games, so we had grown up when hardly anyone else did."

He went on. About meeting the Search Engine Ray Tracer, about the old friends, those Net Pirates, about the Web Creature that nearly erased AndrAIa.

Then the Web... "You can't be in the Web without protection," Matrix said, "It would degrade your Bitmap and even your Code. The Web is a nightmare, worse than the games. But, that's were we found Bob."

Bob had been with a group of degraded sprites. Matrix went out about the battle, about Bob saving AndrAIa's life, how Bob had fused with Glitch, and then finding Mainframe.

Matrix yawned. He didn't want to continue with more, he already used "Hours" of game time, and the night had grown on them. "I think that's enough for now," he said tiredly. He was already leaning heavily against the wall, but now he settled in a bit more and allowed his eyes to close.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Starwell had listened intently to everything he said, more curious than ever, without interrupting him. It intrigued her to hear about this man's life-story, and everything that had happened in the place he called home... and in his life in general.

Plus maybe it was just fascinating to hear him actually talk a lot for once, since usually it seemed difficult to get more than a grunt or a few short sentences out of him... if that.

Her eyelids grew heavy as she rested her head against the table. She had stopped caring long ago how dirty it seemed. Her sprite-body had already picked up some dust from when she'd been sitting on the floor anyway. "Thanks for sharing," she said in a genuine tone, and then fatigue gave way as she drifted off into sleep for several in-game hours.

And then she dreamed. A dream that turned into a nightmare.

_She saw herself in the middle of the forest, eyeing a collection of in-game sprites. They seemed to be talking amongst themselves, and all chatter ceased as she approached.  
_

_"User!" One of them shouted, and they attacked her. She screamed in agony as a werewolf bit her on the arm, causing it to hurt like hell.  
_

_"That's the least you deserve, User!" another voice shouted. Starwell turned to see Matrix approaching, staring in horror as he aimed Gun at her.  
_

_Hannah's eyes flew wide as she took a hasty step back. "No," she said, "please don't do this!"  
_

_Then Bob stepped out of the shadows. "He's right," he said, "you don't belong here, User. Do you know how many sprites you've nullified?"  
_

_Bob and Matrix closed in on her as the werewolves surrounded her, preventing her from moving.  
_

_Then Gizmo appeared out of nowhere, right at her feet. However, just as she reached for it, it changed shape and grew larger until it took the form of Uncle Frank.  
_

_"Stupid girl," her Uncle snapped at her, "I told you not to touch anything! You are getting exactly what you deserve." With that he turned and walked away, leaving Alpha to scream as Matrix tightened his finger on the trigger..._

A scream escaped from her throat as she woke up, a high-pitched, blood-curdling sound. She fell out of the chair she had been sleeping in, her sudden shift in weight causing it to break as she landed in a heap on the ground. Her eyes flew wide and her heart pounded in her chest.

It had been a while before Matrix could fall asleep. The rush of the cycle's events past before his eyes, but with the speed increased significantly. The scream broke his sleep and he sprang to his feet. At first he thought it had been AndrAIa, and looked around to try and find her.

Instead he found the young sprite-Starwell, on the floor. The expression on her face he knew well.

"Hey... You alright?" He knelt on the floor. His back hurt from his position against the wall as he slept.

She all but flinched at his sudden nearness, the dream still vivid in her mind. Then she blinked several times, returning to reality as the dream faded from the fore-front of her mind.

Starwell said nothing. Hannah was staggered. Maybe this place was starting to drive her crazy. Her eyes darted around the room, as if wanting to make sure nothing from the dream lingered in the shadows.

Once she was convinced she really was awake (in the middle of another nightmare, really) she sighed and pushed herself into a sitting position. She was surprised at how nonchalant she now felt about being mostly naked in this cell.

"I don't know," she admitted.

Matrix let out a breath, though it appeared to be a sigh.

In the upper wall, the window shown small beams of light. Matrix stood, and watched as it got brighter.

Only one day left.

"I hope Bob is doing alright..." he murmured.

Starwell pushed herself up off the floor and began to walk around the room as much as she could. It felt good to get the blood-or energy-flowing through her body as the horror of the dream continued to fade.

Matrix eyed her for a moment, then returned to his seated position against the wall. The stone felt cold and hard underneath him but he ignored it; he had endured worse during his time in games.

Eventually Starwell stopped, having paced around as much as she wanted to. "Where do you think Bob Is right now?" she asked aloud.

"I don't know." Matrix's shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "I'm sure he's fine, though. He always is." That slight spark was visible in his eye again, something that resembled an infallible respect… and possibly something deeper.

The Renegade's confident expression made Starwell pretty much believe it as well. She nodded. "Yeah… he's probably okay." She gazed up at the window, wishing she could actually see outside.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Gizmo remained silent for the most part. After a little while though it did give a series of beeps and whirs, which translated approximately as, [Where are we going, and what is the plan?]

Since a Guardian could only understand the Keytool that he was bonded to, Glitch dutifully translated. Then Bob answered Gizmo's question, "I'm trying to find that cure for Matrix and Starwell. They've got so little time left."

Bob had finished one errand, which was collecting ingredients for a game-sprite Alchemist. That had involved shopping around for a few crafted items, which included tracking down an obscure trader out in the middle of the forest who sold rare items. The remainder of the ingredients could be found largely in the forest, mainly herbs and other kinds of plants, plus a particular kind of mineral.

Once the task of gathering ingredients was completed, the Guardian returned to the Alchemist and waited while the game-sprite compiled the items into a single source-game, making a new item. "Do you have the payment?" the Alchemist asked when he was nearly finished, eyeing the Guardian from beneath a pair of thick spectacles. The left lens in the glasses had a hairline crack that traveled from one edge of the frame to the other.

"Right here," Bob replied, handing over a pouch of silver coins. He already had some game-currency on him when he first ReBooted; he had gotten more by looting bodies and selling any useable items he'd found or looted.

The Alchemist nodded and took the money. "It is done." He handed Bob a jar containing an elaborate mixture, brewed partly by hot water within a cauldron and partly by magic.

"Thanks," Bob acknowledge politely, as was his nature.

"Good luck in your travels." The game-sprite tipped his head and vanished into his cottage.

"Yeah… I'll probably need it," Bob muttered under his breath. The next step was to find a Witch who lived somewhere deep in the woods.

It ended up taking almost too much game-time to finally get to the game sprite who could activate the quest he was looking for. And the travel had taken almost too long to believe. He was forced to stop and pick a few edible plants that grew in the wild in order to boost his energy levels; a quick check with Glitch confirmed which ones had energy-boosting properties. Not his favorite especially because they tasted funny, but he wasn't going to be picky.

When he finished his second pick-me-up snack he found that he was around the nearby lake known as "Rainholm". The trees grew considerably thicker here, blocking it from his line of vision, plus there was an eerie fog that gathered just over the lake itself, concealing it even more from view. Nevertheless, he knew it was there, especially when he looked at the map.

"Glitch, Map." One glance at the game map confirmed that he was very close to the Witch's cottage.

A quick look around revealed that, in the distance, he could see it. The cottage was barely noticeable amidst a clump of thick trees and overgrown brush that helped seclude it. He wasted no more time; he ran toward it.

On Bob's other arm, Gizmo was getting more and more restless. It was trying its best to be patient, especially since it knew that Bob knew what he was doing. It was within Alpha Starwell's best interests that the cure be found, after all.

However, it had finally reached a point where it couldn't just sit still and be quiet any longer. It shifted position slightly on Bob's arm, changing shape while the Guardian wasn't looking at it. It formed just enough fingers to be able to flip the bird at Glitch, then whirred a brief burst of communication that translated as, [You are an inferior model!]

Gizmo then returned to its original shape and sat there innocently. As far as Gizmo was concerned, it had been very good up to this point and it had done nothing but wait and worry about Starwell. It just wanted to pull a little mischief.

It was somewhat disappointed when it failed to get a reaction from Glitch. Bob was entirely focused on what he was doing and where he was going; either he didn't notice what Starwell's Keytool was doing or he was simply ignoring it.

Bob stopped the door on a small cottage. He wasn't quite sure how to proceed, But...

He knocked on the door. And a smaller, elderly game-sprite opened it only partially.

"Who's there?" the old woman's voice was sharp and wretched.

"I'm here about the Werewolf Cure," Bob said, accordingly to Game-Script.

"Ah, yes." The door creaked as she unhitched a chain, then it squealed ominously on its hinges as it swung inward. "Come inside," the old crone welcomed, motioning him forward with a wave of her withered, spider-like hand.

Bob already felt as if he was running a marathon, again. He knew what was coming; he would soon begin a set of new tasks that would require him to go all over the place. But he would do it because it was necessary to save his friends.

For Matrix, and For Starwell...


	12. Chapter 12

Hope for Bob. That's all that could be done.

Matrix was back in his position from yesterday, trying to fall back asleep. The night had been too short.

Starwell spent some time simply looking around. It did little good since their surroundings had not changed at all, and it wasn't like she could will any of the cracks in the walls to grow larger… or the door to open. Perhaps if she still had Gizmo, those notions wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility. But the way things were now…

She sighed. She had managed to calm herself down and her heart had stopped pounding, but there was no way she was going to get back to sleep at this point.

She then did something she probably would never have done before a few in-Game hours ago. She tentatively stepped closer to Matrix and sat down beside him (near him, but not _too_ close) and crossed her legs.

Starwell stared at him intently for a long moment, lost in thought. Finally, she asked in a very quiet voice, "Do you think I'm a threat? I mean... could I hurt someone without meaning to?" That thought, along with the dream, made her sick.

"Anyone can be a threat," Matrix droned, his eyes still closed, "It all depends." His neck itched horribly. He resisted the urge to scratch it.

Starwell shifted in discomfort. The cold stone floor chilled her legs and feet, even her bottom. She rubbed her arm warily; the bitten area seemed to bother her even more ever since she'd woke up from her dream. Unless that was a sign that the infection was getting worse. She tried not to think about that. Anything could happen between now and the upcoming night, after all.

"I am really, really jealous of you right now," she told him, staring at him in an odd way.

"Heh, and why's that?" Matrix said sarcastically. He gave the spri-Starwell-a look, almost amused and mostly bored and tired.

She gestured at him. "Just look at yourself," she said. "You have much better underwear than I do! It actually covers your torso area, at least part of your arms, and a bit of your legs. You might as well be wearing jammies or something compared to me."

She glanced down at herself again and winced, once again starting to feel self-conscious. "I look like something out a swim-suit catalog, a model for Victoria's Secret." She realized he might not even know what those things were. He wasn't a member of the world outside the computer, after all.

Matrix chuckled. He understood what she meant. "Nothing I haven't seen before, kid."

At the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but see the glow against his collar. It was bright, and more frequent in dimming and brightening than before. He imagined that his neck looked worse than it was, possibly the dark green may have even faded to black. He couldn't tell.

Starwell did her best to ignore the eerie glow emanating from Matrix's neck, and she refused to look at her own arm. She tried to keep the conversation going, such as it was, just so she wouldn't have to focus on the inevitable.

"I guess you must see some pretty weird things in games sometimes," she commented thoughtfully. She shuddered at the thought of some things people in the outside world did or saw in some games. What must the sprites think of some of the things that go on? "What is the worst thing you ever saw in a game?" she wanted to know. She knew her curiosity was really getting the better of her now.

"Worst thing?" Matrix touched his neck lightly, "It was worse than this. Me and AndrAIa were leaving a system via a new game cube drop. This game, it was a rare genre, a Survival Horror.

"The game was Whisper Valley. It had some of the worst things, most of them I couldn't describe nor do I know what they were. The game-sprites, they didn't even resemble sprites. The way the game coded you when you Rebooted... It was nasty and painful by any accounts. The things you had to do to defeat the User were humiliating, some of them I think not even viruses would do."

Matrix resisted a shiver. "What made this worse was that the game had a compulsory reaction add into the coding. A lot of the things I and AndrAIa did in that game... It wasn't right."

Starwell clamped a hand over her mouth, resisting the urge to ask for clarification. She had a feeling it might scar her already disturbed psyche if she asked for a clarification. She was actually starting to feel embarrassed for humankind for subjecting innocent sprites to stuff like that.

Then again, who was she kidding? Humans did stupid and disturbing things to each other all the time.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Somehow, it just felt... right to apologize on behalf of humankind (or Userkind?) for that, for whatever good it did. "I didn't realize just how bad you guys must have had it." She squeezed her eyes shut, leaning her head against the wall. "You must really hate the User," she murmured. "And you must not like me very much for... um... simulating one." _For being one,_ part of her brain corrected.

"Not your fault," Matrix begrudged, "You can't help your code. None of us can. Figures the Guardians would do something like this. You don't look like an Alpha Sprite anyway."

"So you really think the Guardians made me? Guardians like Bob?" Starwell had gotten the impression from her brief conversations with Bob that the Guardians were some kind of organization within the systems. Perhaps they were similar to social workers and police officers combined, or some such. "Why do you think they would make a sprite to simulate a User?" She of course knew the truth; she was the only one in Mainframe who knew the truth about herself. But she still wanted to draw out his opinion on the matter to understand his thought processes.

"Bob said that the Guardians would simulate games. It would only be a matter of Clock Speed before they would simulate a User. As for creation, I couldn't tell you. I don't even think Bob could." Matrix leaned forward tilting his head at the young sprite. "You're awfully curious, how come you don't know this stuff?"

Starwell blanched slightly, wondering if she had asked too many questions. "Uh... I'm just very, very new," she stammered, hoping he would accept that as an explanation. "I don't even know what's happening to me or why. All I know is that I started out in my Uncle's system, and… well, long story short, I ended up here. I just..." She lowered her gaze. "Want to get back there so I can go home and see my family again." _And be human again._

"Hmm." Matrix shrugged, "Whatever." He softly itched his neck.

Starwell felt slightly relieved. "I miss my family," she said, continuing along that train of thought. It kept the subject away from her ignorance of the system-life and prevented any further revelation of her naivety at the moment.

"I mean," she went on, holding her sore arm close to her body, "well... they're not perfect. My mom's a bit of a drama queen sometimes and Dad acts like a know-it-all… don't even get me started about Greg, my brother. He is _such_ a brat. But… at least we're a family."

She paused. She had no idea why she was talking to him about this stuff. Maybe it was because he had spilled his guts to her, and there was no longer any harm in it.

"I was staying with my Uncle when... he went outside for a moment," she said slowly. "He told me not to touch... well, something in his system. Next thing I know, I'm... different, and I'm running away from somebody who was chasing after me, and I ended up in a different system… eventually I ended up going to Mainframe."

"My Dad was nullified when I was young. I never knew my Mom," said Matrix, "As a kid, it was just my older sister Dot, my dog Frisket, me and Bob. After that, you know."

"Sounds like you've had a rough life all around," Starwell said thoughtfully. "Can't even imagine what any of that is like. How in the world do you keep going?"

Matrix didn't even have to think about that answer. "I just do," he said simply. "I have to."

Starwell figured she could understand that. She supposed the main reason she had stayed sane in all of this and managed to press forward was because she simply kept finding ways to move on. To keep going, to endure. "I guess I get now why you're so... rough around the edges," she said carefully. "You don't seem so bad, though."

Matrix gave a half smile, "And you're not so clumsy as you seem."

"Thanks, I guess," Starwell said with a little shrug. She then laughed a little as a random thought popped into her mind. "I remember this one game called Knights of the Old Republic," she said thoughtfully. "I don't know if you've ever heard of it... or played it, but there are characters in that game who believe any kind of armor or clothing restricts movement."

She indicated herself thoughtfully. "I guess I'd make a wonderful Echani right now, if I had any talent in fighting."

"There are plenty of games like that. Most of the time, they're games like this one, where you can increase skills and earn experience." Matrix leaned against the wall.

"Yeah, I suppose," Starwell said simply. She yawned and found herself growing sleepy again. Apparently the shock and fear from the dream had worn off, more or less.

She nestled back against the wall, allowing her eyes to drift shut. It was hard to get comfortable, but sleepiness managed to overcome the physical discomfort.

Somehow, over the next few hours or so, she had shifted periodically in her light slumber in an attempt to find a more comfortable position, and ended up finding one. Her head was resting against Matrix's shoulder when she finally drifted off into a deeper sleep.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Bob was on the run again, collecting more ingredients. He'd memorized the list of items he needed to acquire, although the data was also stored in Glitch's memory.

Gizmo was still bored and it decided to make another attempt to get some kind of reaction from Glitch. Gizmo thought about it for a few microseconds, and then it softly whirred a message that would approximately translate as, [Hey Glitch, I bet your mother was a snow blower and your father was a vacuum cleaner. Your Mom blows, and your Dad sucks.]

Glitch, however, did not react. In many cases it wasn't meant to react to situations unless called upon or in an emergency. At times it would converse with its own kind, but usually they only spoke among themselves in times of dire need or to exchange greetings when they had not seen each other for a lengthy period of time.

That didn't mean it wasn't becoming annoyed with the alien Keytool. It simply chose to remain silent, as its main function within a game was to stand by to assist its Guardian.

[What's the matter, Glitch?] Gizmo beeped and whirred in its own language. [Are you living up to your name? Are you too glitchy to be of use? Has a glitch impaired your communication protocols?]

Glitch gave warning. But not to Gizmo. Bob stopped running. "He- What?!"

Gizmo fell silent and remained completely still, analyzing its surroundings. What was Glitch warning Bob about?

"Glitch, shock. Just a little." And an electric shock went through Gizmo. Just a little, not painful or incapacitating.

Gizmo let out an indignant squawk, then fell silent and still. It briefly entertained the idea of some form of retaliation, but what good would that do?

It finally came to the conclusion that the best course of action was to simply be still and be silent, at least until it could be returned to Alpha Starwell. Any further mischief would only result in trouble at this point and would impede the process of finding the ingredients for the cure. That did not mean it didn't feel a slight grudge toward Glitch, however. It also didn't mean that Gizmo wouldn't give Starwell an earful of a vent later when they re-united. At least _she_ listened to it.

It briefly analyzed its own thought processes and feelings, attempting to determine why it had acted the way it did beyond mere boredom. It then realized something; it simply missed Alpha, and it was acting out. Plus... in a way it didn't like riding around on Bob, especially since it had to ride around on the opposite arm of Glitch. Gizmo did not belong there, period. It felt like a trespasser. It belonged on Alpha's arm, and it knew it would personally throw a fit if Glitch ended up on her other arm. Each Keytool to its own sprite, after all. That was Gizmo's opinion.

[Glitch,] Gizmo beeped in the language of the Keytools, [I apologize for bothering you. I won't insult you further.] And it meant the apology sincerely.

Glitch said nothing, but the apology had been accepted.

Bob stopped at a cave entrance, the largest one he'd seen yet in this game. This was one of the Caves of Typhoon that exist in-Game. While normally it was one of the Main Quest areas, this was a specific case. Bob unsheathed his sword, and ventured inside.

The darkness within was almost tangible. It was thick, enough so that he couldn't see his hand merely inches from his face.

"Glitch, flashlight." The Keytool shifted, and it brightened. The cave was fairly standard for game caves. He just had to go deeper.

It was a long time, likely game-hours before he finally reached the chamber he needed. The entrance was a huge door with strange designs.

Gizmo eventually decided to break the silence with a simple query. It beeped and whirred a question at Bob, asking how many more ingredients needed to be collected before they could complete the Quest and search for Starwell.

It didn't even mention Matrix's name. Gizmo may have settled its differences with Glitch (especially since Gizmo could acknowledge that it had only itself to blame for that spat) but it still disliked the big, brutish sprite.

"Just one more," Bob responded after Glitch translated, without looking at either Keytool. In truth he was not looking forward to this, especially since this particular ingredient would be the most difficult to get. Not to mention the most gruesome.

The chamber was huge. Glitch's light didn't even penetrate three feet of the deeper darkness.

Bob could hear something moving in the dark. He could hear claws as they scrapped against stone. He could hear the wet breathing of something waiting...

Gizmo let out a small squawk of anticipation. It was, for once, silently grateful that Starwell wasn't present. As cruel and self-centered as it might sound, it figured that if Glitch or Bob bought it in the cave at least they weren't Starwell.

Gizmo supposed that in a way... it didn't really care about anyone else. The very reason it existed was because of Starwell's presence/creation in the system she had appeared within. While it couldn't exactly say it understood what she was or where she came from (how could any program understand anything beyond the systems?) it understood _what_ she truly was, at least to a limited extent.

That meant she was special, unique. Its sole purpose was to assist her, to give her access to certain command functions and access certain things within Systems that not even Guardians could access, though only at her command and in her presence.

It knew that it would probably cease to exist if she ever got back to the hardware device that would send her home, because then its purpose would be fulfilled and its presence would no longer be required. But nevertheless, it had to follow its programming.

It supposed that... it loved Alpha Starwell. If it meant helping her and seeing her get home, which was what she obviously wanted, it would gladly face de-compilation for her.

All of a sudden, the creature appeared out of the darkness.

The werewolves were nothing compared to this. This wolf-like creature was huge, and completely lacked any humanity features, Bob wasn't even sure it could be related to wolves either.

The Beast of Legends roared, a Feat that shook the room.

Bob tensed; he nearly dropped his sword, The monster was even larger than he'd feared. For a moment he wondered if he should have gotten some armor upgrades when he still had the chance, but it was too late now. He simply had to hope that his current equipment and Keytool would be enough.

The Beast snarled and charged. It came after him, its eyes glowing like eerie red orbs in the darkness as it opened its mouth wide. Its prey moved to one side, causing the Beast to miss ripping into Bob's shoulder with its fangs, just barely.

It saw its prey move swiftly and raise its sword. The Beast narrowed its eyes calculatedly, then it stamped its foot on the ground with enough force to make Bob stagger.

The Beast then swung around, before Bob could react, using one of its massive forepaws to pin the Guardian against the cave floor with considerable force, crushing the wind out of him. The Beast grinned, knowing it had its prey trapped.

On Bob's arm, Gizmo shrieked at him. It seemed to try and pry itself off of his arm, wanting to run for cover or something.

"Glitch! Blowtorch!" The Keytool changed, and burnt a hole into the Beast's paw/hand.

The Beast roared in pain as the flesh on its forepaw smoldered. It took several steps back as it seethed in agony, waiting for the effects of the fire to die down.

Then it turned on Bob again, more furious than ever. It used its good forepaw to reach down and pick up a good-sized chunk of rock, and then it threw it at Bob.

That was when Gizmo succeeded in separating itself from Bob's arm. It couldn't go far, but it did vanish into a small crevice nearby.

Bob jumped away, and hit the ground head first. The rock impacted somewhere on the far wall. He sat up, his vision disoriented and ears ringing. His processor had been thrown through a loop. His shoulder had started to ache, and thank the User that the teeth hadn't sunk into flesh but merely dragged the shoulder-armor off.

The Guardian tried to stand, but the floor wouldn't stop moving.

The Beast continued to stamp its feet as it moved, using its massive bulk and strength to its advantage. It hardly considered Bob a threat, especially considering how small he was. But it was also smart enough to understand that _he_ was intelligent as well; the prey should not be underestimated.

It continued to shake the ground as it moved, intentionally keeping its prey off-balance. It then let out another roar, which knocked the Guardian completely off of his feet.

The Beast then charged toward him, picking him up by the legs and holding him up-side down for a moment. The Beast grinned at him hungrily, and then it lifted him up higher and opened its mouth wide, getting ready to eat him.

Bob didn't even have the focus to fight the grip. As he was dropped into the maw, Bob said one last thing: "Glitch, _Anything!"_


	13. Chapter 13

The Keytool changed into a long double bladed sword. It caught the Beast in the throat, and Bob held a grip on the handle. He would not fall, and the Beast could not swallow.

The Beast couldn't make a sound except for a strangled sound and jagged breathing. It staggered, bumping its shoulder against the solid rock wall. The sword remained in place like a spike that wouldn't allow stubborn prey to be swallowed.

It then did the only thing it could think to do. It opened its mouth wide and lurched itself forward, using a combination of retching and the forward momentum of its body to spit Bob and the troublesome sword back out.

Gizmo observed all of this from its hiding place nearby. It's self-preservation protocols reminded it that if Bob and Glitch perished, it would be stuck here alone without any way of getting back to Starwell or finding her. It needed Bob to succeed in order to save Starwell and to get back to her.

So it did the only thing it could think to do; it followed the last command that Starwell had given it, a command that was still in its memory buffer. It went into defensive/protective mode, changing into the same electrical rope that it had become to tie up the werewolf that had attacked its owner some time ago in the forest.

However, this Beast was much, much larger than one of those werewolves. Gizmo could only form a length just long enough to stretch itself around the Beast's hind legs, securing the ankles together. It was, however, just enough to make the Beast fall down flat on its face with a resounding _boom_ that seemed to shake the entire cavern.

Several chunks of rock were shaken loose from the ceiling, clattering on the ground. One of them hit the Beast between the shoulder blades and bounced off. It didn't hurt the Beast much but it did sting a bit.

Bob blinked. He felt nauseous.

He stood up and used the double-bladed Glitch sword as a leaning stick. He swayed, his legs buckled.

"Glitch, Sonic pulse. 180 Radius." The blade changed into its original Keytool form. Bob allowed himself to land on his knees. The Keytool released an electrical shriek. The Beast's head and upper torso was in that radius.

The attack had the desired effect; the Beast was effected. The shock took a small portion of the Beast's health and left it mildly stunned for a moment. It blinked its massive eyelids a few times, trying to shake off the effects.

It had a powerful sense of Will, however; it quickly recovered and then released another deafening roar. It used its good paw to reach forward and grip the ground, dragging itself across the cave floor within reach of Bob.

Gizmo was doing the only thing it could do at the moment; continue to hold itself securely around the Beast's ankles in its current rope-like form. However, it was hindering the Beast's progress, at least. Plus the floor had stopped shaking since the Beast could no longer stomp around.

The Beast managed to drag itself within grabbing distance of Bob. It snarled, then it reached out with its good forepaw and gripped Bob's legs tightly.

"Glitch, Sword!"

The Keytool changed. Bob stabbed the Glitch-Sword into the ground, and held on.

The Beast growled in aggravation. It maintained its hold on Bob's legs, using its own momentum and (gingerly) its wounded forepaw to pull itself forward, just a little closer. Then it rested the forearm of its wounded forepaw across Bob's legs, pinning him in place.

Then it raised its good paw high above its head, then moved to bring it down on Bob with significant force.

"Glitch Double-Blade." The Keytool changed in accordance.

The Beast roared and gripped Bob between the shoulder blades, ripping off a portion of his body armor. It then raked a couple of claws against his back.

Bob cried out. He yanked the Double-Glitch Blade out of the ground, and stabbed into the paw/hand that held him.

The Beast snarled in pain and fury. The Guardian's action had made its already wounded forepaw more useless than it had been already, and the Electric-Rope-Gizmo continued to hold its ankles together securely.

It drew its mouth close to Bob, releasing a deafening roar that shook the cavern and prevented him from finding his footing. The Beast then opened its mouth in an attempt to snap him off the ground in a mouthful.

Bob's balance was ruined. He couldn't get up properly. He did the first thing that came to mind, he held the Glitch Sword up, blade first.

The shaking floor ended up giving the Beast a disadvantage in this manner; its own aim was off, and it ended up biting down on the sword. This caused the blade to rip into its mouth, causing a bit more injury.

The Beast grunted in pain, momentarily stopping its attack as it attempted to regain its composure. It then growled and decided to focus its attention on the rope that bound its ankles together. It twisted its body around and sank its teeth into the rope.

The ground stopped shaking. The rope released its grip on the Beast's ankles, and it dangled from the Beast's mouth like a collection of glowing, wadded string.

"Gizmo!" Bob yelled, only catching glimpses of the changed Keytool in his wavering vision, "Guardian Protocol 452, Accept Command: Anything!"

If Gizmo had had eyeballs, it probably would have blinked. It knew it was being spoken to but it had no idea what Bob was talking about or what he was referring to, although it did get a general idea; it needed to do something. _Now._

It retained its current shape; it released an electrical jolt that caused the Beast to loosen its hold, then it snaked out from between the Beast's teeth and matter-of-factly wrapped itself around the giant mouth, forcing it to close tight.

The Beast's eyes widened. It shook its head violently, trying to shake it off, but it would not budge.

Bob stumbled up. He shut his eyes to regain some composure. He held the Glitch Sword in front of him, and charged. He wasn't sure he was going the right way until the blade sank into something soft and furry.

The Beast could no longer roar. It had just barely stood up when it felt something sharp pierce into its side. It released an angry snort through its flared nostrils, and then it bent down and wrapped its front arms around Bob, pressing him against its chest and lifting him into the air in a tight bear-hug.

Bob had one thought left to use, and he knew that this was going to be the biggest Game-Breaker he had ever done. "Glitch," he gasped, "Drill." The Keytool changed, and Bob used it to its fullest.

This resulted in one of the most disgusting things that could happen in a game, especially considering the Beast was programmed to contain blood. The drill was inserted through the upper torso of the Beast, causing the fur to fly, followed by bits of flesh and blood. Blood splattered in all directions as the Beast sustained a mortal wound. It released Bob and then collapsed on its side, in a big, bloody, furry heap. It inhaled and exhaled raggedly through its nostrils, still alive but heavily wounded. It's eyes were wide, angry, and for once, _fearful_ as well.

It did not move. It simply stared at Bob in open fear and hatred as Gizmo's rope-form continued to glow eerily around its snout, holding its mouth securely shut.

"Glitch, Sword." The Keytool changed. Bob stumbled towards the Beast. The look on his face was beyond pity. It was sorrowful, regretful. "I am so, so sorry."

Bob lifted the sword, and slashed down. His eyes were closed, resolute.

The Beast's eyes went wide and blind as the killing blow took effect. Blood gushed dramatically from the inflicted wound, splattering onto Bob's arm and pooling onto the ground around his feet. The Beast then went completely still, its lungs exhaling as its final breath escaped its lungs in a strained sigh.

When Bob finally opened his eyes, the Beast was already dead and its eyes had closed. He let out a puff of breath and allowed himself to fall to his knees. The Guardian took a few moments to regain some of his stamina as well as his composure.

Finally, he stirred. "Gizmo, come on," he said in a tired voice. "We've got something to complete."

Gizmo didn't respond immediately. It maintained its position for a moment longer, as if wanting to make sure the Beast was truly dead. Once this fact was confirmed on its sensors, it finally untangled itself from the mouth and slithered onto the floor.

It then returned to its normal, Keytool shape, right in front of the sprite. Bob gently picked up Gizmo and returned it to his free arm.

Bob eyed the enormous corpse for a long moment. He then took a dagger from his armor belt, knowing that he still had to collect the final ingredient for the cure; the dead creature's heart. He grunted in displeasure as he braced himself.

He plunged the sharp tip of the blade into the furry pelt, slicing through the skin and the muscle tissues underneath. He grunted in disgust as his blade tore through the flesh, becoming bloodied as he did so. He struggled a bit as the blade raked across a couple of ribs.

Finally he managed to get the area of the body open enough so he could insert his hands. Unfortunately he had to remove his gauntlets to do this, for they were too bulky for this… plus he had to feel for the heart.

He was extremely grateful for the fact that he was low on energy, if only because it meant his stomach didn't have much in it. Otherwise the putrid stench of blood and sliced flesh, along with the grisly deed, might have made him barf.

After a few moments he finally retrieved the heart. It was a large, lifeless clump of flesh that almost seemed to beat one final time in his hands before it went completely still. He grimaced as he wrapped it carefully and put it into his backpack along with the other ingredients.

He turned away from the corpse then, refusing to look in its direction again. He just wanted to get out of the Cave.

It was game-hours before Bob finally exited the Cave. He had fallen and stumbled many times trying to leave, and he used a Glitch-stick form in order to walk properly. The deed that Bob had to do, it had been done.

The moment he was outside, his processor registered horror. The Day had turned to Night.

"I'm too late..." Bob murmured, and then collapsed at the entrance of the Cave.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Matrix awoke from a dreamless sleep. He was uncomfortable, his back ached and his neck had a crick and his throat had gone numb. He touched the skin along his windpipe. It still felt the same, but the feeling of itching, or of anything, had left it entirely. He glanced up and looked at the window. The light was fading outside, which meant the sun was setting. The day was nearly over.

He cursed. He gently shook Starwell, who was napping on his shoulder. "Kid, you're going to need to get up."

Starwell awoke after a moment. She blinked, and then felt a bit sheepish when she realized she had been sleeping against Matrix's shoulder. She stiffened, leaning away from him and scooting off a bit. "Huh?" she said, blinking. She then grimaced; her arm felt like it was fire. She glanced down at herself, and she gasped with horror when she realized that almost every inch of her exposed skin was glowing eerily.

"What's happening to me?!" she cried out as she scrambled to her feet. She held her arms away from herself and splayed her digits as she stared at her palms. She get a little shriek, looking as if she expected her infected skin to explode any second.

"Kid, calm down," Matrix said carefully. He stood and faced her. "It isn't going to be easy. You need to take a nano to relax."

The girl continued to stare at herself with widened eyes. Her overly exposed body revealed just how far and completely the infection had overtaken her. It was no longer something that she could put out of her mind or pretend wouldn't happen.

Bob wasn't coming. No miracle was coming to stop this. Maybe part of her had even believed that somehow this wouldn't happen. But apparently, it _was_ happening.

She shrank back, clasping a hand over her mouth as her eyes went saucer-wide. _What's going to happen to me?_ She couldn't help it. She was very, very close to completely freaking out. Her entire form felt strange and he had no idea what would happen if she… changed. Terror shot through her chest as she imagined it being painful, possibly even affecting her mind in some way.

This was something she had never experienced before, nor did she ever dream she would have to endure anything like this. That just made it all the more scary.

Matrix walked towards Starwell carefully. "Kid- Starwell, look at me," he said in the same way that Dot would have said to him when he was small, and when he need to take a moment, "You need to breathe. Input and output, okay? Do you understand me?"

Starwell squeezed her eyes shut. She bit down on her index finger to keep herself from screaming, and the sharp pinch of her teeth against her skin gave her a temporary distraction. It was enough; she then focused on her breathing for a moment.

Then she lowered her hand... and grabbed Matrix's hand, as if for comfort or at least something solid to focus on, a presence to keep her in the here-and-now.

Matrix permitted the touch and held her hand gently. "Just breathe," he urged. He glanced at the window, noting that the light had faded completely. He took a breath. "You're going to be fine, kid." He gritted his teeth.

Starwell had managed to calm down when she felt something erupt inside of her. She gasped, releasing Matrix's hand and taking several steps back. She groaned, grabbing her head as it began to throb painfully.

Then she screamed as every nerve in her body seemed to pulse. What was going to happen was going to happen any nano now.

Were Matrix wise or even cowardly, he would have stood back or even banged the bars on the cell door for help or something of that nature.

Instead...

Matrix was in front of Starwell in an instant, "Kid, look at me. Come on! Look at me, I need you to focus on me." He placed his hands on her shoulders, "You need to focus on me kid!" He dug his fingers into her skin just long enough to distract her, to get her attention.. Compared to him she seemed so small, yet that could change any nano if the infection finished engulfing her. He hoped she had the willpower to fight it.

Starwell grunted, inhaling sharply as she looked up at him. Her entire form was trembling now, and she stiffened under his touch. "W-what's happening?" she asked, her voice shaking. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

"Just focus on me." Matrix was processing rapidly, he need something to distract her, "Not long after I returned to Mainframe, there was a mass infection on the Net," He didn't bother to add anyone else, he had to keep pushing his point, "Everyone got infected, including me. I had to fight did, I did fight it and I won. You need to fight yours, Starwell, you have to fight it."

There was a distant discomfort at the back of Matrix's mind.

She gritted her teeth, staring up into his eyes. "What's happening?" she asked, her voice strained. "Am I... b-becoming something e-else? C-can I s-stop it if I f-fight it, or is it g-going to h-happen anyway?"

"I don't know..." Matrix muttered. He gave Starwell a squeeze of the shoulders, "I don't know. Just focus on me, just focus." The distant discomfort was becoming a bit painful, and Matrix took in and released a deep breath. He couldn't fall to it. Not now.

"Where is B-Bob?" she asked, her shaky voice taking on an almost whiny edge. "And where's Gizmo? If they were here..."

Another shudder rolled through her body. She was starting to feel drained, as if the infection was eating away at her willpower. Her shoulders slumped beneath Matrix's hands and her head dropped down. Her knees weakened and she fell against his chest.

Matrix caught her, and knelt to the ground. There was a jolt, and he sucked in air. The distant pain had become a throbbing, and he could feel something cold under his bitmap. He clenched his teeth.

Starwell's eyes suddenly flew wide. Somehow she knew deep inside of her that she could no longer fight whatever was about to happen. She grunted and struggled weakly against Matrix's arms.

"J-just let go." She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away from him.

"I..." He could hear a pounding in his ears. He clenched his teeth. Matrix let go, and backed away. The throbbing pain sent a wave, and he nearly lost balance, but he refused to let it come. He would not let it take him.

Starwell screamed as her entire form was engulfed by something she couldn't explain or describe. Her body then reconfigured itself and changed shape, growing somewhat larger and more muscular while still retaining some of its feminine shape.

Bare skin was replaced with light-colored fur in a rippling effect, her head formed a snout and pointed ears, and her tail-bone sprouted a large, bushy tail. She huffed and puffed, collapsing on all fours. The pads of her paws ached slightly against the chilly stone floor, and she felt her claws digging against the solid ground.

Her eyes finally opened. She looked around, feeling an almost feral instinct well up inside of her. Starwell bared her teeth, feeling a strong sense of... hunger. She thirsted for in-game blood, and she _needed_ to sink her teeth into something. Anything.

"Kid..." Matrix stared. He kept his implanted eye on the creature that had replaced Starwell, a target but there was nothing to stop it or deter it.

Another wave of cold past through him. He forced himself not to shake. "Starwell!" He said to the beast, "Come on kid! Tell me your still there!"


	14. Chapter 14

The creature turned sharply in his direction, red eyes wide and feral as the mouth opened to reveal a row of razor sharp teeth and a set of long, pointed fangs. She stood stiffly on her legs, holding her forearms out for balance as she adjusted her weight on her legs and with her tail.

Once she adjusted to her new body weight and mass she focused on Matrix again. Her mouth opened and released a vicious snarl.

But then recognition seemed to flicker in those blood-red eyes. She looked Matrix over carefully, then closed her mouth and sat down on the floor. She wrapped her arms around herself and huddled on the ground, letting out a small whimper.

The hunger continued to burn in her chest. But she had grown to like Matrix, and she knew him. She refused to do anything to him, even if the thirst for blood gnawed at her stomach like a fire demanding to be quenched.

Matrix eyed her cautiously. He could tell that she recognized him and that she had enough willpower to resist attacking, no matter what her instincts urged her to do in this infected state. He moved a few careful steps toward the beast. He didn't think it was smart to touch her like this.

"We'll have to wait this out," He said softly.

A pain burst shattered his concentration and he jerked back. He cried out, and dug his hands into his head. _No! No! __**No! **_He couldn't fall to this! He couldn't!

Starwell's ears flattened against her skull and she blinked rapidly. "M-Matrix!" she cried out. Her voice sounded low and gravelly, quite odd even to her own ears, but at least she could speak. She inhaled sharply and stood, gritting her teeth as she fought against the pangs of hunger that threatened to consume her. "Matrix!" she said again. "It... it'll… be… okay." _Somehow, it'll be okay... it has to be._

Matrix could have sworn he heart Starwell speak, but the throbbing seemed to mix every sound into a torrent. He felt feverish, and he shook in the suddenly chilled air.

Pain. It blinded him, made him numb. He collapsed.

Inside, he fought with every once of will and strength. The infection was deep, and it pulled him deeper with every wave.

He jerked up, cried out a name. For a moment, the pain ceased.

Then the infection consumed him.

The change was fast, but it was an eternity to Matrix. He felt as his code shifted and his bitmap was changed to match. The fur that came was dark, nearly black if it weren't for the slight greenish shine, his muscle expanded and grew. Claws and fanged teeth came, a tail. He was beyond recognizable as a sprite by the end, which the exception of only two things. His yellow implanted eye, and the tattoo on his left shoulder.

He was ravished. There had never been such a desire for energy of any kind before.

Matrix's consciousness could dimly control himself. It felt too much like a dream, and he felt too alien. He found that he could not stand up right, and was forced on all fours. He caught the first scent in the room. It was Starwell, and though he needed a target, he wasn't about to attack her. On the other hand...

Matrix rammed right into the bars of the cell. The door broke on impact, wood splintering and metal bars warping and snapping into pieces as he passed right through like a living tank.

Food was near, and he wanted to get at it.

Matrix attacked the first Guard he found. It was an easy kill, and the Game-sprite had gone down without a fight. He would have settled for that, if more hadn't come. He slew the next one without looking and slaughtered the third and forth.

There was a ping of emotion. He blinked and stopped for a moment. This emotion... He couldn't quite pin it down. It was...

Urgency. There was something urgent, but what? Images swirled in his head. Someone, a person, blue skin, silvery hair, that's it! He needed to find-

An arrow pierced his shoulder and his thoughts were lost.

He killed the guard bowman. And he relished his feed, absorbing the sprite's energy through his mouth as his tongue lapped up blood and bits of flesh. The taste buds of the feral creature he'd become relished the taste of such gruesome feeding.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Starwell's eyes flew wide when the newly formed creature burst out of the cell like a charging bull, breaking through the bars and going right out.

The feral instinct of a werewolf and the hunger for energy was still present within her, yet somehow her mind remained coherent enough so that she could fight it and still think rationally. She was alert and self-aware enough to be hesitant and cautious.

After a moment she tentatively moved through the newly broken door, then she began a slow pursuit of Matrix's wolf form. He was already out of sight but she was confident she could find him. Her sense of smell had enhanced to the point where she could follow him no matter how far ahead he got.

Perhaps along the way... she could find something to sink her teeth into. Even if the thought made the human side of her want to gag.

Starwell moved at a slower pace; she still ran on all-fours but she was in no particular hurry. In truth, she didn't want to risk a confrontation with the larger, stronger creature if she happened to encounter it. Hadn't Matrix said that they would just have to wait this out? If so, she didn't want him to get too far ahead of her, but she didn't feel like getting too close yet, either. She wanted them both to rendezvous when they returned to normal.

Which... if this infection was anything like the stories told in werewolf lore, they wouldn't change back until daylight. Meaning it was going to be one long night.

She sighed and picked up the pace. She kept going until she heard a ruckus just up ahead; her sensitive ears could detect the sounds of battle.

By the time she burst into a different hallway where the Matrix werewolf was, all of the guards were dead and the creature was already feasting.

She took a tentative step into the room, glancing around warily. "M-Matrix?" she spoke. "Matrix!" She waved a paw, trying to get his attention. Could he understand her?

0o0o0o0o0o0

There was a distant voice. He knew it, didn't he? He looked up, and found Starwell. For a moment, all he saw was a creature he shouldn't attack. He blinked, and remembered that Young sprite, who had turned before he did.

He dropped what he was doing. A swelling of realization came over him. What had he been doing? What had he done? His eyes widened. He had to remember, he had to fight this. He couldn't just let some game code control him. A quick glance at the gore on his front paws gave him a clue. He felt something warm and moist which dampened the fur on his chin and jaw line; he instinctively ran his tongue across it. He shuddered when he realized it was blood, none of it his own.

He tried to speak to Starwell, but no words came. Just beastly sounds. He wasn't able to say anything.

Starwell hesitated, her silver-colored wolf-form moving into a crouch. She wasn't interested in fighting, she was simply being cautious. After a moment she took a few tentative steps forward, eyeing him intently. Her mouth moved; it was very difficult for her to form speech, even if her mind still processed and functioned just fine. She attempted to form a sentence, but mostly just noise came out.

She growled, sitting down on the floor and tried to focus. _Come on,_ she told herself firmly. _You managed to say his name. Get it together!_

"M-Matrix," she managed, "we... need to... get..." Her speech parameters stopped cooperating after that. Her sentence ended up with a growl instead of anything coherent.

He knew what she meant. _We need to leave._

He gestured to Starwell, motioning for her to follow him. Her ears flattened against her skull at the sight of the blood on his forepaw; to make it worse, the scent just made the hunger within her worse.

He darted away from his animalistic slaughter, breaking through doors when he had too. One benefit of feeding was that he had more energy than ever, and he could focus on the task at hand a little better.

Another Guard appeared, and Matrix pounced on him. Code overrode his reasoning, and for a moment he would have tried to eat the game-sprite. He pulled back. No, he _couldn't_ go a killing spree. Even if it was just one. He bounded away, and hoped that Starwell was behind him as back-up if he fell to the game's coding again.

The She-Wolf followed after him as they sprinted through hallways and different rooms. She had no idea where they were going, but she knew that Matrix didn't really know either.

They kept going for some time, defending themselves when they had to, although Starwell barely had to do anything except follow and stay close. Despite the intense hunger that burned inside her, that was how she preferred it anyway; she did not wish to kill or harm.

Eventually they came to one final hallway where Matrix charged against one last, particularly thick door. It was made of heavy metal and it was enormous; it required him to ram it twice before he could get it to budge.

And then they were outside.

It was still nighttime as the moon shone overhead, along with a sky filled with stars. Had the situation been different, or had Hannah still been a newly arrived sprite in her first game, she would have taken the time to admire just how lovely and detailed everything was, and how real it all was. It was just like home, really.

Instead, she trotted up beside Matrix, who had stopped as if to get his bearings.

She worked her mouth again, releasing a growl, and then managed to speak a couple of words. "Bob. _Where?" _There, that was it. As long as she focused and kept it short and simple, she could actually talk. Even if it did sound like she was trying to hack up a hairball every time she did.

Matrix looked at Starwell. They did need to find Bob, didn't they? For a moment, fear gripped on Matrix. What if he attacked Bob? What if he accidentally deleted Bob? Matrix shook himself. He could worry about that later. They needed to get out of the city.

He bounded off in a random direction.

She followed him, staying just a few feet behind him as they proceeded through the city. Thankfully there weren't many game sprites wandering around at night, and none appeared to be in their way at the moment.

Starwell regretted the fact that she didn't know Bob's scent. It would have made it a lot easier to track the Guardian and figure out where he'd gone.

As they continued to run the hunger continued to gnaw within her. Her energy levels were getting low and she felt a strong _need_ to kill a game sprite, just one.

She fought against it. She wouldn't let herself become a monster.

However, a sudden thought caused her to stop dead in her tracks, literally. What if her hunger became so bad that she ended up attacking Bob if they found him? At least Matrix had had a chance to feed... she hadn't.

She remained completely still, momentarily forgetting about Matrix as she focused on her hunger. Her eyes slowly turned in the direction of a Game sprite standing on a corner. It was a sprite who had the form of a man, and he appeared to be selling something, possibly illegal by the city laws.

She contemplated the sprite for a long moment. If she pounced upon a sprite doing something illegal... would that be so bad? She bared her teeth hungrily as she slowly edged toward it...

Matrix stopped the moment he found that the second set of feet weren't following. For the briefest moment, he couldn't remember who was supposed to be following and to where.

He blinked. Starwell wasn't with him. The sprite must have gotten herself lost somewhere. He bounded back.

Instead of a sprite, he found another beast. It took a moment for him to remember that the beast was Starwell, and even longer before he could figure out what she was doing.

By then, it was too late.

Starwell took down the game sprite in a single pounce, her teeth biting into his flesh and reveling in the taste of blood that flowed over her tongue. She inhaled the scent of the corpse, anticipating her meal. She consumed the dead sprite quickly, feeling her energy levels replenish themselves adequately. The hunger was satisfied, even if barely.

Then her instinct lessened and her mind retained its self-awareness. Her eyes flew wide as she examined the remains of the corpse. She remembered tasting the blood vividly, and eating this sprite… and she had enjoyed it. She made a gut-wrenching sound, clutching at her throat. What kind of sick creature had she become that she could actually _enjoy_ that? How could she even _let_ herself do that?

Matrix cleared his throat, or at least as close to it he could without choking.

The She-Wolf's head turned sharply in his direction. She self-consciously licked her lips, grimacing as she once again enjoyed the taste of the blood that lingered there.

"Bob," she all but croaked. She sucked in another breath and focused on finishing her broken sentence. "Us. Find." She looked at him indicatively, trying to imply that she wanted him to take the lead again.

Matrix nodded, and bounded off. The coding forced them to follow its rules, no matter the cost.

They bounded around a corner, and ran into the wrong crowd. There were shouts, both of fear and of battle. Arrows flew, and guards came up with swords and shields. An arrow struck Matrix's chest. Thanks to the endurance he gained as a were-creature, it only served to impede. Worse, his rationality fled.

He began his attack.

Starwell released a feral snarl, crouching low against the ground. She wasn't sure who was attacking-gangsters, a mob, what. She simply saw Matrix lose control and begin to attack after he was attacked.

She yowled as an arrow struck her in the side. Her teeth whipped around to yank it out, and then her own animal fury overcame her, just for a moment. She snarled and went wild.

Bodies flew left and right as she and Matrix became heavily engaged in battle. The gangsters (or whatever they were) began to thin out, but the commotion had gotten the attention of several guards. A bell began to ring and it summoned the attention of even more guards.

Blood continued to spurt and fly, limbs and broken bodies were flung about, and more than a few of them were even partially consumed. It was a terrible, grisly scene as game sprites were killed and torn apart, some of them partially eaten until a sword blow or shot arrow distracted one of the creatures and made them forget their meal as they acted in self-defense.

As they acted out of pure instinct, having temporarily lost touch with their sentient consciousness.

Eventually Starwell found herself fleeing in a random direction when there was a break from the battle. She was wounded, although all of the sprites she had consumed were fueling her current format's ability to regenerate quickly.

By the time she leaped over the city wall and bounded off into the forest, she was mostly healed. That meant she picked up speed as she continued to run.

Eventually she began to slow down, and she began to remember herself. She stopped dead in her tracks, a feeling of horror overcoming her. _Where am I? What am I doing?_

Her ears pressed flat against her skull. _Where is Matrix?_

Starwell tried to backtrack a bit, but she realized that she was hopelessly lost in the forest. She did have the advantage of heightened smell, however; she could backtrack a bit by following her own scent back in the direction of the city.

After a while though she ended up collapsing due to fatigue. She tried to get up, but in the end she let herself go limp. She figured she might as well just sleep it off and figure out what to do in the morning.

She slept fitfully for some time.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Matrix didn't remember what happened.

He found himself past the city's gates, somewhere in the middle of a grassy field spotted with flowers. He wasn't quite on the dirt path but somewhere near it.

He was limping in the direction towards... Somewhere... He couldn't feel his right leg, and he had many arrows sticking from him in multiple areas. The forest seemed to be just up ahead; he had already passed a few dozen trees of varying shapes and sizes.

Matrix grunted softly as he began to yank the arrows out, one by one. Thankfully his current form allowed him to regenerate, meaning the injuries would seal themselves up over time. Apparently that was one benefit of the infection, at least…

He blinked. Infection, yes… the infection had overcome him. He tried to remember what happened, gritting his teeth as he yanked the last arrow from his abdomen.. Attacks, arrows, cries and snarls. Then silence. He remembered... He remembered an urgency... He had to find someone. No, he had to find _two_ someone's...

His eyes widened. The Kid! He didn't remember her in the battle. Did she...

He let out a strangled cry, and bounded off into the woods, despite his leg. The sudden rush of emotion had pushed him on.

Matrix smacked his shoulder into a tree, almost blindly, and hit the ground. He just felt so tired...


	15. Chapter 15

Out in the middle of the forest, Gizmo became more and more agitated as Bob remained offline in the Cave entrance. Gizmo understood that Bob had been through a great ordeal, and it deeply appreciated the fact that he had gone through great pains to find the ingredients for the cure. However, the more time it remained in one place, the more agitated the Keytool became.

Unlike Glitch, it had the tendency to grow bored and restless when it wasn't any closer to reaching its goal, which was to get back to Starwell. It had chosen to behave itself for the moment, which meant no more mischief. It also couldn't go very far on its own, so that meant there was only one thing it could do:

Try and wake up Bob. If it could.

It beeped and whirred. There was no response. It then clicked and whirred at Glitch, asking if it had any ideas to wake him up. Glitch whirled and Bob began to get up. But it wasn't Bob; he was still offline, but his sprite began to move. It ran like Bob, so indistinguishable from the real online article. Glitch set the coordinates back to the old Witch's house as Gizmo beeped its gratitude.

Gizmo was impressed in spite of itself. Apparently Bob and Glitch were truly interconnected, at least when they were touching each other. Gizmo knew that it shared a unique link/bond with Starwell, especially when it was connected to her arm. But... it wasn't sure if it could pull anything off quite like this with her. After all, Starwell had a very complex code structure, unique to any other format or program within any System.

Gizmo already knew that Bob was a program, a being very different from Starwell, and Glitch (although similar in some ways to Gizmo) was a different form of Keytool. It was for this reason that Gizmo had teased Glitch so much earlier; perhaps in a way, Gizmo considered itself superior when comparing itself to Glitch, simply because it had the capability to act on its own within a limited fashion. Not to mention Gizmo could access some things that Glitch didn't seem able to.

However... Gizmo also figured that it wouldn't know the full extent of what Glitch was, what it was capable of, or the full extent of its limitations unless they connected directly.

Gizmo beeped and whirred, asking Glitch a question. It basically asked if, when they got out of the Game, perhaps the two of them could briefly link together and exchange data. It would be fascinating to discover just how alike and different each of them really were.

Glitch gave no reply. Either it wasn't interested or it was more focused on the task at hand. Then again, Glitch wasn't exactly the chatty type, a fact which got on Gizmo's nerves.

When Bob finally came to, he wasn't quite sure how he had ended up in front of the Witch's cottage, nor how he had gotten a bottle of something in his hands. He grunted softly as he sat up on the wooden porch, rubbing the back of his head warily. He felt adequately rested, but still somewhat tired and definitely sore all over.

He took a moment to make sure both of the Keytools were still present. Gizmo was still on his right arm and seemed delighted that he had awakened. Good, it hadn't wandered off.

"Glitch," he said, "Scanner." Glitch responded immediately, and he used it to scan the contents of the bottle.

The potion... Oh Thank the User! It was the werewolf cure! Bob smiled, he could cure Starwell and Matrix.

_If_ he could find them. That realization caused his face to fall somewhat. It was a big world out there and both of them might be too far away to scan for at this point. There was no telling what they had done after the Infection had taken hold of them.

Still, he had to try. He picked himself up, brushed off his pants, then began another long hike through the forest.

His feet were already sore.

"Wait a moment, young traveler."

Bob was surprised to find himself being addressed by the Witch. He turned to find that she had stepped out of the cottage, toward him. The tattered ends of her robe flowed around her legs like gentle wisps as she moved.

"What is it?" Bob asked warily, placing a hand on the hilt of his sword. It seemed that the Game sprite only wanted to talk, but in scenarios like this you could never be too careful.

"You have the cure," the Witch told him. "However, it is fair to warn you that it will do you no good."

Bob's eyes widened and then narrowed into slits. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded, furrowing his brow.

"Simply that the cure will only work if you defeat the Spirit of the Beast," the Witch replied, her voice becoming ever shriller. She interlocked her bony fingers together, a gesture that made her appear all the more like a walking corpse.

"The Spirit of the Beast?" Bob blinked. "But I just killed the Beast," he said quickly, eyeing the bottle in his hand.

"That you have, young traveler. But unless the vengeful Spirit is vanquished, the curse will never truly end."

Bob sighed. Of course nothing could be that easy. "Okay… thanks," he finally said. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Look out behind you!" The Witch vanished back into her hut.

Bob stared after her a moment, confused. Then a snapping of twigs behind him made him turn.

He let out a startled yell as a giant black bear bounded toward him. He began to run.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Starwell awoke some time later to the sound of chirping birds. Her eyelids flickered open, and she realized that she could see daylight. She groaned as she pushed herself off the ground. She felt so sore and so stiff. And no wonder; she had been sleeping on a rocky stretch of ground with grass and roots sticking up out of it.

"Ow," she complained, rubbing her head. It was then that she realized something. She was back to normal. Human (or, well, regular sprite) again. Her skin still had an eerie glow right around her arm, indicating that the infection had not gone away. But she was back to normal.

And once again in her underwear. She was in the middle of the woods... in her underwear.

This fact made itself more profound when she got up and moved around; the ground bit into her feet, especially when she stepped on rocks, roots, or certain kinds of plants.

"I am definitely not Jane of the Jungle," she grumbled to herself, moving at a very slow and careful pace as not to hurt her tender tootsies. "I bet that girl has callus's on her feet."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Matrix woke from a fitful sleep. He found himself in the middle of the woods, and it was obviously daytime. For a moment, he didn't understand why...

_Oh._

He remembered last night. Flashes of attacking guards and villagers, and sometimes just raw emotion. Then that was when it hit him. Starwell was gone. He looked around. There was no one around. He got up, and cringed for a moment. His leg hurt.

He also had no armor or weapons, but… there were extras. His nails were longer, sharper and a darker green. There was more hair on his arms and legs than usual. A facial examination with his hand showed that his normally light stubble/goatee was a bit thicker and more shaggy, his ears were slightly pointed. After effects, and they would be a dead giveaway to anyone who knew the coding, on some level.

He took to a random direction, and hoped that he found Starwell or Bob somewhere.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Starwell had to stop after a little while. She just couldn't really get around anymore, not like this. Her feet were starting to hurt too much and she began to feel more and more self-conscious and useless the further she went.

_I feel like some kind of forest barbarian or something, walking around in my underwear like this,_ she thought with a frown. Yet even a barbarian would have had tougher feet than she did. Or something _on_ her feet.

She ended up continuing a little further. She didn't want to simply plunk herself down in the middle of the ground; she wanted to be somewhere more open.

She smiled with relief as she walked into a forest clearing. It was an absolutely beautiful sight, complete with grass and flowers, and the sun beaming down on it. A stream flowed through the center of it, having a shimmering, glass-like appearance underneath the sunlight.

"At least it's a beautiful morning," she mused positively as she stepped closer to the stream. She sat down on a mossy rock beside it and dangled her feet into the cool water. It felt good. She smiled in delight.

Her smile faded after a moment, however. She felt something moving near her feet. She glanced down, and she spotted what appeared to be a snake wrapping itself around her ankles. A very big snake. She swiped at it, hoping to get it off of her feet, but it moved too quickly. It wrapped around her like a rapid-moving rope, securing her legs together and pinning her arms against her sides.

"HELP!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, attempting to struggle out of its grasp. It only hissed and tightened its grip. She rolled onto the ground; it was getting harder to breathe as the snake tightened around her. It gradually got even tighter, threatening to crush her...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Matrix heard a yell.

_Starwell!_

He ran to the source of the yell. The forest became a blur. Then he found a dis-colorization among the grass in middle of a clearing.

A large snake. It was long and thick, and in its folds was a very familiar young sprite.

Matrix cursed. He grabbed the Snake. It hissed at him, and he snarled at it. He allowed his new sharp nails to sink into its scales. The snake opened its mouth, revealing fangs. Its still free head struck out, but it missed Matrix's head.

Matrix reacted by biting the back of the serpent's neck. He drew his jaw tighter, until the snake went limp.

Starwell gasped as the snake's body went limp and its coils loosened, allowing her to breathe again. She continued to gasp and pant as her breath returned to her, the virtual air filling her sprite-lungs. She lay completely still on the ground, pressing her hand against her chest (only to touch the leathery skin of the dead snake) as she tried to regain her composure. For a nano there she had been convinced that she was a goner.

Ironically, she knew, if she had still been a werewolf when that happened... she could have ripped the snake to shreds. Possibly eaten it. _Ew._ She shuddered inwardly at the thought and made a face.

Matrix blinked, and spat the snake out. Tasting raw flesh was no longer desirable outside of his werewolf form. He helped get the snake body off of Starwell. "You okay, kid?"

"Yeah," she breathed. "Fine. Just fine." Actually she felt like she wanted to be sick. At least, Hannah felt that way. The sprite-side of her told her to shut up and grow a spine. She had just spent the night as a werewolf, and she had been doing pretty well at surviving and maintaining her sanity up until this point.

_Yeah, but that's just because you have Matrix to watch your back, and Bob before that,_ she told herself.

Bob. Where _was_ Bob? For that matter, where was Gizmo? For some strange reason, part of her felt… somewhat incomplete without the Keytool.

"Hey, thanks," she said with gratitude, focusing her attention back on Matrix. "I'm really glad you're here." She let herself go limp against the ground for a moment, staring up at the clear sky. The sun was shining directly into her eyes. She held up a hand to block the bright light from her vision.

"Yeah..." Matrix sighed, and sat down next to her. He wiped his mouth, reminiscent of the snake that had been in his mouth and found that his teeth were fang-like. He rolled his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose. He was relieved that he had found Starwell. Unlike himself, the effects of her Lycanthropy were small, aside from the glowing skin.

He waited a few more moments, giving both of them a chance to regain their composure. Finally, he said, "We can't stay here. Come on, we've gotta keep moving."

Starwell closed her eyes momentarily. "Yeah. Okay," she nodded. She then stood and he rose, and she began to follow him as he proceeded through the forest. Since he was bigger and thus had longer legs, he could automatically move faster than her.

However, her progress was severely slowed by the fact that her tender feet just couldn't handle it. Apparently Matrix could handle walking barefoot without a problem, but she couldn't. Whether it was because she had been human before this, or if it was just due to him being a sprite (or maybe his werewolf infection had toughened him up a bit) she couldn't be certain.

She fell more and more behind as her walk became slower and slower, her footing more tentative than ever. Especially since she was keeping an eye out for more snakes. Her near-nakedness made her feel more self-conscious than ever now. "Sorry," she commented when he looked at her at one point. "I just can't go very fast like this."

Matrix sighed. He bent down, showing his back and his intent. "Get on."

She blinked. "You're offering me a piggy-back ride?" she asked, feeling a little unsure about this. It seemed silly, like something a six-year-old would be offered.

"Yes." Matrix may have slept but he felt mentally exhausted. He wasn't impatient, as his usually strong front was currently extinguished from the night's events. At the moment, he just wanted to keep moving.

"Uh... okay then." She tentatively stepped forward and climbed onto his back, putting her arms around his big shoulders and neck, putting her legs around his waist for support and balance. In a way this felt awkward and uncomfortable, especially since... they were both in their underwear. But still... she trusted him, and she knew he wouldn't do anything to her. He was just trying to be practical at the moment.

Just as he rose and began to continue through their trek through the forest, the System Voice spoke up with an announcement.

"Player 1 has been eliminated," it's mechanical, feminine voice droned. "Player 2 remains." Hannah blinked as the spoken message repeated itself once, and then fell silent. It took a moment to register the implication.

Then she got a sick feeling in her stomach. "Uh oh." She pressed her lips together in a thin line.

For a moment, Matrix stopped. He felt Starwell's arms tighten around him nervously. His Guardian Code was acting, and he wanted (and could) end the game right here and now. He closed his eyes, let out a breath, and continued on. He wasn't about to kill a new friend over a game.

But the game had other desires.

An arrow shot past Matrix, and hit a tree beside him. He turned his head, and found that bandits had spotted them.

Starwell let out a scream. She practically jumped off of Matrix's back and rolled along the ground for a moment, head over heels. "Ugh, I am so tired of this!" she yelled, as more arrows sang past her. She crawled underneath a nearby clump of bushes. "I want this stupid game to END already!"

She scraped her body against the ground, looking around for something to use as a weapon. _Yeah, right,_ she thought. She had no armor, not even any clothing at the moment. If she got shot now, she was going to be creamed.

She did grab at a nearby rock, though. She then peered out of the bushes just enough to throw it at a nearby bandit; it bounced off of his head. He whirled around, and then aimed an arrow at her.

She didn't duck quickly enough; she cried out as it sank into her shoulder. She got down beneath the bushes, grimacing as she clutched at her shoulder.

Matrix did the first thing that came to him. Even with no armor or weapon: use brute force. He rushed forward, ignored the arrows that flew past him. He tackled the first bandit that came to him, and began to beat him mercilessly. Once he was sure that he had killed him, he took the game-sprite's short sword. Matrix killed one of the bowman, before an arrow sunk into his leg. He let out an aggravated growl, and whipped around to find another target.

With his implanted eye, he targeted the bowman. He drew back, and threw the short sword. It impaled itself into a tree, with the bandit along with it.

Underneath the bushes, Starwell grunted as she gripped the arrow in her hand. She steeled herself, then she yelped softly as she yanked it back out.

She then heard footfalls approaching. She could see a bandit, possibly the one that shot her, standing near the bush. Perhaps he was wondering where she was.

She took a deep breath, then gritted her teeth as she made a bold move. She reached out and grabbed his ankles, hugging her arms around them. He let out a sound of surprise and she managed to get him off-balance just enough to make him stagger.

She then jumped up out of the bushes and, gripping the arrow she had pulled from her shoulder, she summoned all the strength she could muster and she rammed it into his skull, right between his eyes.

He cried out, and then he fell.

Starwell then dropped down near the ground again, her Survival Instinct warning her to keep down. She didn't want to make herself a target. She then looted the fresh bandit corpse and donned some clothes and armor, then took his bow and arrow.

She even found a health potion in his inventory that mostly healed her arrow wound and increased her energy a little. She took a deep breath, feeling a little better.

Matrix donned bandit armor, at least the most undamaged he could have found. He had gathered another short sword, another bow and arrows. His lips thinned into a contented smile; he had never felt more comfortable.

There was a rustling in the nearby bushes. Matrix already had drawn his sword and made his way to the bush. He was about to strike, and then he found that it was Starwell.

He relaxed, but remained guarded, "We shouldn't stay here. Lets get back to moving on. I want to be out of here before nightfall."

She got to her feet, feeling a bit more confident and less self-conscious now that she had clothing and armor on. Not to mention a bow and arrow at her disposal. Plus her feet were now covered. _Thank God._

"Yeah, nightfall," she commented unhappily. "When we're gonna turn into werewolves again." She sighed, upset. But that wasn't the only thing that was bothering her. The User outside of Mainframe had apparently met his or her demise. And now the game was going to keep going until...

Until what? She met _her_ demise? Unless she could get Gizmo back and access the Main Menu function... then she could try quitting the game. But of course... she didn't know where Gizmo was. The Keytool had disappeared when she and Matrix were transferred to that jail cell. And it would take forever to try and find it in this massive world.

She took a dagger she had looted into her hand, actually contemplating an idea for a moment. What would it take, to end the game the easy way? Hannah screamed fearfully against the idea and Starwell's self-preservation protocols stayed her hand. But still...

She closed her eyes, gripping the dagger thoughtfully in front of her. Would it be possible to wound herself just enough to get the game to think she was dead, to make it end? Or would she have to die completely for it to work? She didn't like the idea either way... even if it would be the easiest, quickest thing to try.


	16. Chapter 16

Matrix realized what Starwell was thinking, just by the position of the dagger and the arm. He grasped it and, in a strong grip, he pulled her close until they were face to face.

"Don't do it. Don't even think about doing it." Matrix was stern, "You listen here. We'll find a cure, and find a way to beat the game that doesn't require your deletion. And if you end the game now, what else do you think will happen? You don't just get recompiled and come out okay."

Starwell stared into his eyes, pressing her lips together in a thin line. Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her dagger and that arm trembled slightly in his firm grasp. "What happens if I don't do it?" she whispered. "I don't know if I can take another night of being a werewolf, and I don't even know if I can take another moment of this stupid game."

Hannah was crumbling within her, yet part of her did want to be talked out of the solution of self-inflicted harm. Starwell wanted to be encouraged. Starwell wanted-no, _needed_ him to insist that everything was going to be okay, that she was wrong. That she didn't need to harm herself to get out of this.

Yet the negative part of her persisted. "I may never get home anyway at this rate," she mumbled. She pulled on her arm, trying to pull it out of his grasp, but his grip remained firm. "At least I can let you and Bob go home." Her voice trembled.

Throughout his lifetime, Matrix had done many bullheaded things. He has rushed into situations where his quick reactions and deadly precision got him into more trouble or just sticky situations. Then there were times where he didn't react, and those times were rare. This was not one of those times, and to keep with his reaction rate, he did the first thing that came to mind.

Matrix hugged Starwell.

"There's no such thing as an easy game-difficulty," he said. It was something that Bob had said one of the first times Matrix had entered games. While it had been a sarcastic remark about the User at the time, it was something that could be taken to heart. "Sometimes, you just got keep moving forward. No regrets."

Starwell was surprised when he hugged her. It was a little awkward while they were wearing armor, but that didn't make the gesture any less heart-felt. She dropped her dagger and returned the hug, resting her head against his chest.

She sighed loudly. "You said," she whispered, "that you and AndrAIa spent so long in the games, some of them worse than this. How in the world did you manage to keep going?"

The fact that he could have kept going for such a long time, even through situations worse than this (including that terrible horror-survival game he'd mentioned yesterday) was way beyond her comprehension. Though perhaps that was because she was not a... natural sprite.

No matter how much Alpha Starwell learned or took a fore-front because the program side of her _needed_ to take the driver's seat for her own sanity and survival, Hannah was still human. Hannah longed to go home or, if that proved to be difficult or impossible, find some other way to escape from this insane, unbearable reality.

Starwell could adapt and handle things. Hannah wasn't so sure, and she rebelled against the idea. The two sides of her, which had been somewhat integrated and had flowed well together, began to conflict against each other now. The sprite side of her and the Human side of her were no longer at peace within her.

"The hope of getting home," said Matrix, "But, I doubt I would have continued on if it weren't for AndrAIa."

If anything that thought just depressed Hannah further. She had nothing in here, really, except for a distant hope that _maybe_ she would get back to her Uncle's system, and that maybe she could get out of there and become human again.

She had no friends or family in here. Yes there were Bob and Matrix, and even Gizmo. Gizmo was probably the closest thing she had a loyal companion, wherever it was right now, and it had been created for her sprite-form apparently. And she had obviously befriended Matrix in the jail cell. He was starting to seem like a big brother in some ways now.

But still, what did it matter? She had nothing. None of her friends from back home were with her now, none of her family. Even if her Uncle came into his system and tried to look for her, (if he even realized what happened to her) would he ever be able to find her? Would he even go so far as to come to Mainframe, if he could somehow figure out she was there? She might be stuck trying to make a life for herself in this weird new reality. Perhaps Starwell could handle that, since she had the correct programming parameters and adaptability. But Hannah's adventurous spirit was nearly spent, and she was unsure if she could, or even wanted, to adapt to this new reality.

It was too alien. It was too dangerous. It was too... unfamiliar.

She pulled herself away from Matrix, looking away from him as tears began to sting her eyes. Starwell hardened herself, getting ready to press on through the forest, for now at least. But Hannah steeled herself, forming an emotional barrier to mentally separate herself from any kind of friendship or kinship she felt toward Matrix... or Bob. If she had to do something drastic, if she decided she couldn't take this anymore, she wanted no regrets. No hesitation.

Matrix looked at her for a long while. "What do you plan to do?" he eventually asked.

She glanced at him, but she didn't meet his gaze. "Let's just keep going," she said flatly. She then picked a random direction and began to move, walking as quickly as she could through the forest.

Matrix knew the emotional distance, he could recognize it in anything. He had gone through it when he was so far distant from family and home and almost everything familiar. He knew that he needed to be with Starwell. She's was going down a path not so unwalked.

He followed behind, cautious of their surroundings.

They continued walking through the forest for some time. Starwell stopped keeping track of time; it no longer seemed to matter. For the most part they did not run into any trouble, mostly just a pack of wolves or a bear here or there that either needed to be deterred, avoided, or killed in self-defense.

They remained mostly silent as they went, barely speaking unless they needed to speak. If anything, Starwell became more and more withdrawn as they continued.

Eventually Starwell stopped, having spotted something in the distance. It looked like the walls to a city were just ahead. She tilted her head to one side, analyzing it. Was it the same city they had been in before, where she and Matrix had gotten arrested? Or was it a different one?

She didn't care either way. She had no inclination to keep going, not for the moment at least. She sighed and plunked herself down on a large rock in the nearby shade, leaning against a large tree. She simply closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, ignoring Matrix and everything around her as she rested for a long moment.

Matrix realized that this forest was huge. And then he realized that if the forest was big, that meant that something bigger than what they were finding was inside. He refused to sleep when Starwell began to. Something nagged at him, and it was coming from the woods themselves.

Game-Hours began to pass quickly, and it was by sunset that Matrix decided to wake Starwell. They shouldn't be in the woods at night, he had decided, they needed to find somewhere away from the city some ways away but it wasn't here.

"Hey Kid, you need to-" He never finished the sentence. He dropped his Bow and arrow. Something had wrapped around his stomach, and then pulled him away. He didn't even have time to call out.

Starwell's eyelids flickered open. It took her a moment to get the fuzz out of her brain and to realize that she had been sleeping. She'd only intended to rest her eyes for a few nanos, but apparently she had been more tired than she thought.

Her first thought after being awakened was to tell Matrix to get away from her and leave her alone. Despite being fairly well rested, her mood and attitude had not improved much.

However, Matrix was apparently not where he'd been a moment ago. She blinked, looking around in puzzlement.

Then she spotted something nearby. And then she looked straight up. Her eyes widened, and she nearly screamed.

There was a large plant-like creature nearby that had Matrix wrapped up in its tentacles. Whether it was able to move around or if it simply spawned close to the nighttime, she had no way of knowing. But she could see it clearly now; it was like an enormous Venus Fly-Trap plant, with a gaping maw and long, snake-like tentacles that could ensnare living prey and bring anything it caught to its mouth.

It's mouth opened wide, getting ready to deposit Matrix into it.

Starwell screamed, a sound of fury as much as it was fear. She rushed forward, snatching up Matrix's fallen sword. In a quick motion she sliced off the tentacle that had wrapped itself around him, causing him to fall to the ground.

The plant-creature screamed in agony.

Starwell let out a grunt of effort as she dodged the plant's attempt to grab her. She side-stepped a tentacle and then sliced into another one that tried to ensnare her. She then moved downward, slicing through two more tentacles, and then she thrust the sword into the middle of the plant's base. It cried out in agony as it was sliced open, and then its remaining tentacles went limp.

Starwell blinked several times when she realized it was all over. That was the first battle she had won completely on her own.

Matrix hit the ground, dazed. He squirmed though the plant like tentacle, and took his breath. His first thought, there were going to be more of those things in the forest come night fall. His second thought, the sunlight had disappeared. Already, he felt the throbbing. It was faster this time.

"Better get ready, kid!" He had time to yell, as he jerked in pain and felt the change take him.

Starwell blinked. She then realized exactly what he meant when she felt a familiar throbbing, as if every nerve in her body had been set on fire. She groaned out loud, trying to fight it as she felt the familiar headache and gut-wrenching pain threaten to overwhelm her. "NO," she cried out, shrinking backward as if she could get away from it that way. "Not again! I can't do this again!"

Matrix would have said something to her, anything, but his mind was swept away. The armor and weapons disappeared from his Bitmap, and the reappearance of green shine black fur came.

While he didn't fight it, he was determined to stay focused. He was back in the slur of consciousness, and the hunger was there again. The first things on his mind were to stay with Starwell and to find Bob. No matter the cost.

Starwell saw him change first. She gripped her head between her hands, squeezing her temples. She was determined to fight it for as long as possible. "No," she whispered. "I don't want to go through this again!" The more she fought it, the more painful it got. It became so intense that she screamed, high-pitched and blood-curdling, a sound that echoed through the forest.

Then it engulfed her, and she was unable to fight it anymore. She morphed into a werewolf, and then she collapsed on the ground, drained from her efforts to fight it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It had taken Bob some time to lose the bear, though thankfully it could be done without harming it. The Guardian had no desire to battle or take the life of another creature so soon after the battle with the Beast of the Legends.

Besides, it didn't take much to lose the bear; it only involved jumping into a muddy creek and breathing through a hollow reed while he hid underwater. It was the oldest trick in the ReadMe file when trying to escape notice from pursuing game sprites in the woods.

Glitch informed Bob when it was safe to get out of the water. He breathed a sigh of relief as he emerged, hauling himself up onto the shore. He was covered in mud and algae.

Bob spit a bit of muck out of his mouth. "Once all of this is over," he remarked to no one in particular, "I'm going to take a nice long, hot energy shower." He glanced down at his dirty armor, crusted with dried blood, bits of dirt and now traces of rank-smelling muck from the creek. He inhaled deeply and pressed onward.

Gizmo had nothing else better to do, so it had been monitoring pretty much every single sound and scrap of movement it could detected within its scanning radius for some time. For the most part, Bob had not run into much trouble except for some bandits which he'd stealthily avoided, and a bear that he'd been forced to put down.

Now it was nightfall yet again, and Gizmo was getting discouraged. How in the world were they going to find Starwell in all of this forest? If only there was some way to scan for her, or detect her...

Then it heard a faint sound in the distance. It was so distant and so hard to hear that no normal sprite could have heard it, it was so far away. Yet Gizmo zoomed right in on it and it immediately recognized two things about the sound. It was Starwell's voice, and it was a sound of severe distress.

Gizmo shrieked with excitement and sudden concern, nearly bouncing itself off of Bob's arm. It released a series of beeps and whirs to both him and Glitch, trying to indicate the direction they should go.

"What is it Gizmo?" Bob looked at the strange Keytool. It was pin pointing something. The urgency of it, it was something important.

Bob would trust it, even if it was mischievous. He ran for that direction, by passing trees and bushes. He nearly tripped when he saw the Beasts. Two Werewolves, one was collapsed. The other was on all fours.

Before Matrix could go near Starwell, he smelt the new scent. The code forced instinct, and made his hunger more prominent. He didn't even realize he was drooling. He whipped around to the source of the scent, found it and pounced on it. He was intent on sinking his teeth into the prey's flesh...

It was too late for Bob to hide. The standing one spotted him. For a brief moment, the werewolf reminded him of a bigger, black version of Frisket. His eyes widened. The prey and predator stared at each other for a few long moments. "Matrix?" said Bob.

Starwell grunted as she tried to push herself up, yet she remained on all fours. Apparently her attempts to resist the change had drained some of her energy. She heard a familiar voice. Her head whipped around, and she saw the larger creature staring face to face with...

Bob? Bob was here? Her eyelids flickered several times. She grunted, squeezing her eyes shut as she fought the impulse to sink her teeth into him. The hunger gnawed at her gut. "Bob," she grunted, rubbing her stomach.

Gizmo beeped and whirred. Perhaps it was due to their connection, or maybe it could still detect who she was even despite her format change. Regardless, it pried itself off of Bob's arm and landed on the ground, just in front of her.

Starwell stared down at it for a long moment. It actually took her a nano to remember what it was. "Gizmo," she grunted. Gizmo beeped happily.

Bob stood, after Matrix had sorely gotten off of him. He placed a hand on Matrix's head. Bob was smiling. "I've got some good news and bad news for both of you," he told them. "The good news is… I got the cure."

Matrix could swear that his tail was wagging.

Starwell's ears perked up straight when she heard the word "cure". Gizmo beeped a couple of times, seeming to confirm this.

She inched slowly toward Bob, eyeing the bottle he held in his hand. "Cure?" she questioned in a single, barking sentence. Her eyes stared at him, hard, as if wanting to make sure she wasn't getting her hopes up for nothing.

Bob almost chuckled, but remembered the situation, "Yes. A cure. Hope you guys like it, I went through the Recycling Bin and back to get this!" Then he quickly sobered. "But then there's the bad news…"

He would have continued. If something had wrapped around his leg and dragged him off before he could react.

Matrix bounded to follow, when a different something, or rather multiple different something's, grabbed hold of him and pulled him in a different direction.

Starwell's mouth dropped open when she realized what was happening. Apparently more of the Venus fly-trap things had sprung up, becoming more plentiful now that it was fully night-time. Only these were even bigger, and tougher.

Apparently the one that she had killed a short time ago had been a little one, at least compared to these others... and it had come out prematurely.

She snatched Gizmo up off the ground, slapping it onto her wrist just as a tentacle sprang out and wrapped itself around her legs, causing her to fall flat on her face. She was too stunned to do anything for a moment, giving it a chance to lift her high off the ground.

Gizmo shrieked on her arm, trying to get her attention. She blinked several times and shook her head to clear it, then realized that she was hovering directly over a large, gaping mouth.

Starwell grunted, then she swung her forepaws to slice through the tentacle that held her. However, that turned out to be a stupid mistake; it simply caused her to fall directly toward the creature's mouth, which awaited her like a hungry, inviting pit beneath her.

"Gizmo!" she barked as she fell. "Do something!" she snapped as she fell into the mouth, and it began to close around her.

Gizmo responded to the command and sprang into action. It changed into a steel rod that positioned itself inside the mouth, pressing into each side of the gaping maw, preventing it from closing further. The plant-like creature shrieked in discomfort and agitation when it realized its predicament.

The creature raised its tentacles and reached inside its mouth with one of them; it wrapped the end of one tentacle around the rod, attempting to pry it loose.

Starwell remained exactly where she was for a long moment. Then she sneered impishly. She studied her long claws contemplatively for a moment, then she raised them and began to tear up the inside of the mouth and rip into the opening of the throat below. It turned out that the inside was much softer and more sensitive than the outside. The creature began to shriek and wail pitifully as she began to tear it apart from the inside out.

Matrix struggled. His ability to reason was lost, only the animal remained as he tried to tear away from the tentacles. He bit and clawed everything for the purposes of either getting away or killing whatever had him. He managed to rip a particular tentacle, and his movement wasn't so restricted anymore. He tore away the rest of them, and ran off. He couldn't remember what he was supposed to be doing. He was supposed to find something...

Bob had sliced through the large carnivorous plant. He already felt partially digested, considering he had to go through its mouth.

Apparently Starwell's animal side had taken over, because she wasn't thoroughly satisfied until she had ripped the inside of the plant apart. She only stopped when her claws finally tore through the exterior skin from the inside. Then she leaped out of the shredded, mangled mess that had been a plant-creature. She blinked somewhat when she realized just how far, even _overboard_ she had gone in her clawing frenzy.

Part of her realized that in a way... maybe she needed that. It had allowed her to get some pent-up emotion out of her system, the feelings of anger and helplessness at this entire situation.

Gizmo squawked, getting her attention again. She grunted in its general direction and it took that as an instruction; it changed back to its Key Tool shape and then took its place back on her arm. Her large, muscular, furry arm that was barely recognizable. Yet it didn't seem to mind being there in the slightest. In fact, it seemed very happy about it.

Starwell glanced around. She caught a flash of movement within one of the giant plant-creatures, and she moved forward to investigate. It was crying out in pain as if...

...As if something inside was slicing it to pieces.

She stamped forward, avoiding a couple of tentacles that were flailing about wildly and blindly. She then grabbed the edge of the mouth and looked inside; Bob was trying to avoid being swallowed with Glitch's help.

Starwell grunted. "Gizmo," she said in her gruff, barking accent that she was starting to loath, "Help him." Gizmo responded by changing shape and turning into a steel rod again, holding the giant mouth open.

Starwell then pulled herself up to stand carefully on the edge of the mouth, then she reached down and grabbed Bob by the ankles. With a grunt she pulled him out, and Glitch as well since he still gripped the Glitch-sword's hilt securely.

Then, since her current form was large and strong enough, she matter-of-factly put Bob over her shoulder like an overgrown child and hopped down off of the wounded plant. "Gizmo!" she barked, ordering the Keytool back to her.

With absolutely no hesitation, it returned to its default shape and snapped itself back onto her arm.

Then Starwell picked a random direction and began to run. Bob jarred a bit on her shoulder as she ran across the uneven ground but that couldn't be helped; she was getting them both out of there. She ran a fair distance until she was satisfied that they had left the planet-creatures well behind them.

Even then she still wasn't entirely satisfied. Apparently this Game had many dangers, ones that could sneak up on you at a moment's notice. She plunked herself down on a fallen tree, setting Bob down beside her. She briefly glanced him over; he seemed shaken, but no worse for the wear.

"You... okay?" Starwell asked him with a cough. Speaking was still difficult. "Still got... cure?" If it turned out he had dropped it or lost it inside the plant-creature or something, she swore she was going to jump off of this tree and go kill something.

…She hoped that that thought was just the animal instinct talking.

"Yeah, I still have it." Bob showed Starwell the bottle. The lid was missing and the contents were half empty. "This is bad, this is very bad." There was the old Read-Me that said at the worst thing will happen at the worst possible moment at the worst possible time.

There was a growling behind Bob. And when he turned, Matrix was there. The Beast was growling, saliva ran from his lips, and he was ready for the pounce.


	17. Chapter 17

Starwell sighed heavily. "Matrix," she snapped, "cut it-" Her voice faltered, then she growled. She made a throat-clearing noise (which sounded more like hacking) and then she finished her sentence. "Cut it out, it's us!"

She then managed a frown in her wolf-form, but her vocal processor wouldn't cooperate any further. She gestured toward Matrix. "Cure," she managed to spat, "Give... him!" She wanted to be cured of the infection (or curse, as it had become) more than anything. But Matrix deserved to have his life back. She wasn't even sure yet if she would have a life to go back to at this rate.

"Matrix," Bob said cautiously, "Matrix calm down. Its me, Its Bob. Remember?"

Matrix pounced. Bob dodged. Matrix smacked his head against the nearby tree trunk, and slumped.

"Hmmpmmp! Ah!" Bob spat dirt, "You just can't talk with that!" He got up, and looked at Matrix's offline form. "I want to give you guys the cure, but you can't take it in this form."

Starwell's face fell. Why couldn't anything be simple? There were a lot of things that could happen during the night. Matrix could run off again in this state or more dangers could show up out of nowhere.

"There's something else I need to tell you," Bob coughed. "I mentioned before that I had good news and bad news."

Starwell's wolf face shifted into an expression of dread, but she stared at her intently.

"The cure won't work until we kill the Spirit behind the curse," Bob sighed.

Aggravation overcame Starwell to the point where she snarled, turned away from both of them, and stamped her front left paw so hard on the ground it ached. This also gave Gizmo a severe jolt, causing it to protest its discomfort.

Starwell sighed heavily and slumped on the ground, then remained there, staring off at nothing.

"Hey there." Bob walked towards her, but he wasn't sure if it would be a good idea for any physical contact. He could tell that she felt bad and he wanted to help cheer her up. "Things will turn out. Here, let me think, Ah ha! I'm not sure if you've heard of her yet, but there's a friend of mine. Her name's Dot, she the older sister of Matrix. She's the for Mainframe."

Her ears flattened against her skull, but her eyes did flick in Bob's direction. At least he had her attention.

"One time," Bob continued, "me and her had to register PIDs in Ghetty Prime. But that was where Megabyte, one of Mainframe's former Viruses, used as his territory. We ended up accidentally trusting one of his spies, a binome named Cyrus. Right when we were leaving Ghetty Prime with the Register PIDs, we found that Dot's folder for them had been downloaded elsewhere!

"Let me tell you, it was one of the hardest things Dot had ever gone through.

"It made it even worse when Dot and I got caught up in a Game Cube, the User playing the infamous Funhouse. This game looks like it came out of a normal Circus game. But everything is trapped. I ended up getting stuck in the room of Mirrors."

He paused, shaking his head slightly. "I'll admit, I was worried. With Dot feeling so down, the User could have gotten an edge. But the User didn't. Dot beat the Game. We were even able to get the PIDs back and trick Megabyte and Cyrus." He smiled. "Talk about happy ends."

Starwell half-listened to what he was saying. Her eyes flicked once or twice in his direction as he told his tale, but when he finished she simply rested her chin on her paws and stared off into space.

_Just sleep,_ she told herself. _You can't talk very well in this condition anyway. Bob'll probably wake you up if anything happens._ She allowed her eyes to shut, and she grimaced briefly. _Please,_ she prayed to anyone who might be listening. _Let everything go smoothly, just once. Let me wake up in the morning and find Matrix and Bob still here, and find that nothing happened during our sleep._

Bob watched her curl up. Well, he was on guard duty. He was okay with that.

A little later, and he had moved Matrix closer and into a more comfortable position. Overall the two werewolves seemed to be at peace in their slumber, even if Starwell was rigid in her slumber. Hopefully she would feel better once she was cured…

Bob frowned at the half-empty bottle as he picked it up and examined its contents. How was he going to break the news to them in the morning? He sighed softly; he would simply have to deal with it in the morning.

The Guardian sat down on the grass near his friends, keeping a general eye and ear out on the forest as the altered sprites slept. Everything seemed to be quiet for the most part.

At least it was, until…

"They truly are adorable when they sleep, aren't they Bob?"

The masculine, deep and smooth voice made Bob jerk. His eyes were wide, and he spun. He didn't see anyone, but then someone tapped his shoulder.

He turned.

There stood a persona straight from his nightmares. Blue bodied, with a structure akin to a stretched, muscular and viral sprite.

"Megabyte..."

"Ah, I see you remember me after so long." The virus stood were Matrix had been lying.

"You were disguised as Matrix? Where is he?"

"Disguised? Whatever do you mean Bob? I am not disguised as anyone. I am simply taking control and talking through him."

"How?" Bob demanded. This didn't make sense.

"If I wanted to tell you, I would have. But I want this to be... as you would say, a surprise. I told you it would be a hunt, but it would not be a hunt like in games like this..." Megabyte gestured to the environment with a claw, "I want it to be on a home turf, and I know what to use and how to use it."

"Whatever you're planning, you won't get away with this!" It was the first time in the game that Bob had gotten truly angry.

"I'm afraid..." Megabyte leaned in close, "I already have."

The visage of Megabyte disappeared, and left the unconscious werewolf form of Matrix.

Bob stood, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He was not sure whether to be angry or worried or horrified.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Starwell somehow managed to sleep soundly through the night, barely stirring at all. She almost regained full consciousness at one point when she thought she heard talking, but by the time she had awakened to alertness the voices had stopped. She therefore dismissed it as a dream.

She then returned to full sleep mode, sleeping fitfully for the rest of the night. Eventually she awoke when Gizmo began to squawk on her arm, insisting she get up. That and the sun was shining down in her face, searing through her eyelids. She groaned softly, realizing that somehow she was lying flat on her back. She rolled over and pushed herself into a sitting position. "Ugh," she grunted, rubbing her sore back.

And then she realized that she was wearing nothing but her underwear. Again. "Ugh... not again!" She complained.

"Nice to see you up." Bob smiled, he held out his hand to her, "Matrix is still out of it."

The female sprite looked up at him for a moment. She then grasped his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "Good morning," she said. It sounded more like a complaint than a greeting. She was somewhat amazed at herself for being able to sleep through the night without feeding on something. Then again, perhaps that simply meant she had mastered her hunger. Or she had been too distraught to care.

She stretched, grunting as she tried to ease her stiff muscles. Whatever happened to her next, she simply hoped they had some nice, soft beds in Mainframe... assuming they got out of this mess.

"Hey," she said quietly, not quite looking at Bob, "um... I'm assuming you heard that announcement the System Voice gave? About the other User being gone?" She frowned. "You know that I'm the only reason this game is still going, apparently."

"Yes. I know." Bob slumped, just a little, "I'm still trying to think how to work around that."

"You're actually planning..." said a tired voice. Matrix slowly got up from his position. He looked horrible, "Now I know things are desperate."

"Good morning, Matrix," Starwell greeted in a low voice.

On Starwell's arm, Gizmo made a noise that sounded almost like a grumble. "Oh shut up," she told the Keytool grumpily. "Matrix is okay. He's been helping me out a lot, and he saved my life."

Gizmo seemed to do the Keytool equivalent of a double-take upon hearing this news. "Yeah," Starwell said, moving carefully to sit down on a nearby rock. "He's alright."

She grimaced slightly. Hadn't she told herself that she wasn't going to care about these people anymore, in case she had to do something drastic? Apparently once she started caring, she couldn't stop.

"Morning," Matrix grunted as he got up. He moved stiffly, apparently sore from the previous night's incidents. "Bob, what about this cure of yours?"

"Yeah, I was getting to that." Bob lifted the half empty bottle, "I'm afraid that there's only so much for one."

Starwell sighed. That wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear upon first awakening. "Is there enough to cure both of us, or just one of us?" she asked warily. She desperately hoped she would hear what she wanted, _needed_ to hear.

"Just one." Bob answered sadly. He felt like he just let everyone down.

All conversation ceased as a group of bandits ambushed the trio of sprites.

Starwell screamed as she ran toward a nearby clump of trees for cover; a pair of dagger-wielding bandits pursued her.

An arrow sang past Bob's head, missing it by mere centimeters.

Matrix did the only thing he could do. He tackled the bandit closest, knowing very well the irony of having to do this all over again.

Bob took out his sword, and started to pick off the game-sprites.

Starwell shrieked as one of the bandits aimed for her head. She ducked and rolled head-over-heels as a dagger slammed into the tree bark, exactly where her torso had been a moment before.

"Gizmo, flaming sword!" she yelled, spitting out the first thing she could think of. The Keytool changed shape almost gleefully, and the hilt made its way to her hand.

She yelped as one of the bandits slashed at it; thankfully her armor took the brunt of it. She swung around and slashed at her attacker's legs. The bandit yelped in agony as red marks appeared across his armor, seeping through as blood oozed from the wounds.

Starwell took advantage of his distraction as she plunged her flaming Gizmo-blade into his chest.

Then she was knocked down flat by the second bandit; she went sprawling on the ground, her blade thrown from her grasp.

Matrix took down a couple of bandits before turning his head to the shrieking.

An arrow lodged itself into his ribs, just above his stomach. He collapsed.

"Matrix!" Bob yelled, as he blocked his own opponents.

"Gizmo-anything!" Starwell yelled.

The flaming sword changed shape into a smaller weapon; a dagger with a very fine edge. It's blade gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight for a moment.

In the very next instant, blood spurted from the bandit's head. No one even saw the dagger thrust itself into his skull at blinding speed. The Game sprite went down, and then the blade dislodged itself from his skull.

The Gizmo-dagger landed on the grass. It seemed to shudder somewhat, as if appalled by the fact that it was covered with blood.

Bob fought with fury. He needed to get to Matrix, above anything else. Something hit a chink in his armor. A stabbing pain from his lower back. He twisted around for the attacker, and was promptly smacked by a shield. He didn't remember hitting the ground.

For a split-second, Starwell could only gape in horror at the scene before her. Were they dead?! "Gizmo!" she screamed.

The Keytool shook off its bloody coating like a wet cat shaking off water. It then resumed its previous form, a flaming sword, and flew back into her hand.

Starwell cursed under her breath, using a rare word that would have earned a lecture from her mother. She screamed as her in-game User instinct kicked in; she managed to take down a couple of the bandits.

Then an arrow pierced her shoulder, causing her to stagger. She grunted as she moved behind a thick tree trunk; a second arrow was driven into the bark. "Damnit, damnit, _damnit!" _she hissed. What was she supposed to do now?

"Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun!" a strange new voice sang out, in what seemed to be a phony voice. "Don't worry, my dear! The wizard is here!" In the very next instant, something like a giant fireball exploded in the midst of the bandits. Starwell was caught in the impact despite being behind a tree; she was flung several meters and landed roughly on the ground.

Thankfully the weeds softened her landing... even if the thorns didn't. "Ugh..." She slumped against the ground, fighting off a wave of dizziness.

Gizmo beeped in alarm. It took a moment for the Keytool's remark to register,

then Starwell's eyes flew wide. She sniffed the air, realizing that something was burning. Sure enough, her armor was smoking. She shrieked as she sat up, fueled by adrenaline. She ripped her armor off and threw it aside, stripping down to her underclothes.

"Why not?" she muttered with a heavy sigh. "Being in my underwear seems like a theme for me in this game. Good thing Mom can't see me like this."

Matrix, trying to push himself up, cursed. "Just what we need..."

Mike the TV stepped into the midst of everything. The bandits were nothing more than charred corpses which still smoldered somewhat.

Mike himself was wearing a wizard's hat and he wielded a staff. His lower body and legs were covered with something that appeared to be a wizard's robe.

"My, my, what is that smell?" Mike said as he stepped over one of the corpses. "Did you know," he said, going into educational advertisement mode, "that forests are littered every cycle? Remember kids, we must remember to recompile rather than dispose. Whatever cannot be recompiled must be set to the recycling bin! And-"

His screen changed to an image of a long, metallic device. "Call now and you can get this garbage pick! It extends, compresses, and it can be an expansion of your own arm! Get it now for only ninety-nine, ninety-nine, ninety nine!"

"MIKE!" Yelled Matrix. Mike flinched, then his form drooped as he went sad-faced.

"Ow... ow..." Starwell grumbled as she walked barefoot across the bumpy soil. She stepped into the clearing, rejoining the others. Somehow, she didn't even feel self-conscious about being in her skimpy underwear anymore.

"You guys okay?" she asked, glancing at the others.

"Yeah... Just gotta-" Matrix grunted when he grasped the embedded arrow, "I'll be fine. Check on Bob."

Starwell hissed as she stubbed her toe on a rock in the ground. "I hate this place so, so much," she growled as she sat down on the ground. "I'm gonna get killed, I just know it. Or if I don't, I'm just gonna turn into a wolf again tonight." Her shoulders slumped. Her skin tingled. She reached back and scratched an itch between her shoulders. "Ugh, don't tell me I have fleas now! I'm not even a wolf right now, come on!"

"Now presenting the handy-dandy flea collar!" Mike exclaimed. "It repels everything from miniature virals to energy-sucking nulls! Free for only-"

"Oh will you shut the hell up?!" Starwell barked.

Bob moaned, and rolled over. His eyes fluttered open. "...Did we win..?"

"No, you didn't win," Starwell said bitterly. "Apparently I'm making it difficult for anybody to get out of this stupid game. It's still running because of me, remember?"

Something tiny pricked at her skin again; she slapped her leg and itched it. Then she examined the area on her skin. Either she had fleas that she couldn't see, or the infection had more side-effects than simply making her skin glow.

"Oh..." Bob's eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

A grunt was heard, followed by a growl. Matrix had pulled out the arrow, but some of his characteristics seemed... off.

Starwell sighed. "What are we gonna do now?" she asked, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

Mike produced a bag of marshmallows from nowhere. "Anybody want to start a camp fire?" he asked with a stupid grin.

"No," Starwell snipped.

Mike's face fell, then he frowned and shook his staff at a small pile of wood, attempting to start a fire.

Matrix broke the arrow imbedded in his bitmap, and threw it to the side, "Don't know. What time is it?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Starwell snapped irritably. "Do I look like an expert on the time?"

"Take a look a the sky then!" Matrix growled.

"What the hell does it matter?" Starwell shouted, her voice cracking. "We're never getting out of here!"

She huffed and pushed herself to her feet; her tender skin immediately protested. She gritted her teeth, growled, and moved toward one of the charred bodies. She hoped that one of the lootable corpses might have some salvageable footwear, at least.

Matrix would have yelled something. He just got out of a fight and pulled an arrow from his chest, he did not need anyone giving him crap. He opened his mouth and stopped at a voice.

"...Stop that..." Bob's voice was strained, yet firm.

Starwell stewed silently as she moved around carefully, checking out the charred corpses. She managed to obtain a pair of leather boots and a set of leather armor. She even managed to get a bow and a quiver full of arrows. At least she was armored and armed again... but for what? She would lose it all again when she became a werewolf.

Starwell growled and threw her weapons against the ground almost apathetically.

Bob struggled sitting up, "...Can't believe you two, flying off the handle like that..."

"Is this a sign of domestic problems? Could it lead to violence? Tune in next week to hear on the Game File Channel!"

Starwell grumbled something under her breath.

[I could send a power surge through the television set,] Gizmo chirped. [That will change his channel. Or mute his speakers.]

"Gizmo, shut up. Your jokes are stupid anyway." Starwell snapped.

Gizmo squeaked, a little miffed and hurt.

"...Oh, hey Mike, when did you get here...?" Bob asked.

"I've been around," Mike said with a smile. "I was starting to think I was alone in the game until I found you guys! Now we can be a team and win the game together, like one big happy family!" He exclaimed in delight and grabbed Matrix's hand , latching onto it.

Matrix jerked his hand away, and muttered something incoherent.

Starwell inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. She knew that the last thing any of them needed was to keep being snippy.

She glanced toward the sky. Then she looked at her Keytool. "Gizmo," she said, "how much time do we have left... before nightfall?" She gulped.

Gizmo beeped. Starwell closed her eyes.

"...What is it?" Bob asked.

"I guess time flies more quickly than I thought. It's only about five hours until nightfall," Starwell replied quietly.

Matrix got up, "Then there isn't anymore time to lose." He held out a hand to Bob, "Need help?"

"...Sure." Bob grasped it, and pulled himself up. Bob staggered, but stood.

"Even if we do find this spirit or whatever, and kill it... what then?" Starwell shrugged.

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to help you!" Mike gave a swing of his magical staff. This resulted in a wisp of magical energy shooting from the end of it.

"...Oops," Mike gave a nervous chuckle and took a sheepish step back.

"Be careful with that thing, you-" Matrix noticed something at the corner of his eye, "Bob...?"

In the place were Bob had been, stood a blue furred deer buck with silver-like horns.

Starwell stared. Then she blinked a couple of times.

"I guess me and Matrix aren't the only ones turning into animals now," she remarked. "Hey, change him back!" she snapped at Mike.

"Uh, right!" Mike cleared his throat and tugged at his collar. "Uh..." He shook his staff. "I don't really know how!"

Starwell did a face-palm. "Great..."

"MIKE!" Matrix roared, "YOU'RE DELETED!" Matrix surged towards the appliance.

The Bob-Deer became started, leaped to run, but ended up tripping into a sprawl.

Mike screamed like a girl and bolted into the forest with Matrix hot on his tail.

Starwell stood frozen in place, unsure what to do.


	18. Chapter 18

"Gizmo, uh..." She stammered, stumbling over her own tongue. She wasn't even sure what she was trying to say, or do, and Gizmo seemed even less certain.

Matrix disappeared into the forest with Mike.

The Bob-Deer looked terrified.

Starwell felt more conflicted than ever. "Gizmo," she said, "can you change Bob back?"

[...You must be joking. And joking… that's supposed to be my job!]

"Okay, just forget it." Starwell gave the deer a meaningful glance. "Listen," she said in what she hoped was a soothing voice, "everything's okay. Just... stay right there, okay?" She took a tentative step forward, stretching out her arm as if to pet the deer. The deer stopped struggling, but it shook.

Starwell gave the altered Guardian a sweet smile. "That's right," she said gently. "It's okay." She took a couple of very slow steps closer, remembering a skittish pony she had interacted at a petting zoo when she was seven. Somehow she'd managed to get close to it when not many others could.

She gently touched the deer's head. "It's okay, you know me. You can trust me."

Gizmo, however, chose to be devilish. [Hey, Glitch. Care to pass the buck? Are you and your Guardian going to attend a stag party?]

The deer snorted.

"Come on, now," Starwell said, trying to urge the creature to accompany her. "We gotta go after Matrix, okay?"

[What is the matter, Glitch? Deer got your tongue?]

"Gizmo, shut up."

[Be quiet rogue,] Glitch concurred.

The deer stood, very shaken, and it clumsily walked.

"That's a good... deer," Starwell said pleasantly, feeling a little weird. Then again it was no more weird than when Bob tried to cheer her up while she was a wolf, she supposed.

[Why do you keep referring to me as "rogue"?] Gizmo demanded of Glitch.

[Because you are.]

The deer walked towards her and tripped. Bob's regular form fell over Starwell.

Starwell felt her breath whoosh out of her lungs; the sprite was heavier than he looked. "B-Bob!" she gasped, slapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Get off of me!"

[Get your lumbering Guardian off of her, Draconian,] Gizmo beeped in annoyance to Glitch.

Starwell took a deep breath and managed to shove Bob aside enough to scoot out from under him. "I hate this game," she said again.

"Oh, my head..." Bob lifted himself off the ground, "That was one of the strange experiences I've ever had... Where's Matrix and Mike? And what in the Net happened to my armor!?" Bob was in nothing but the Game Default underwear.

Starwell stood. She stared at him for a moment, then decided to address the most awkward question first. "Want my armor?" she smirked. "Hey, if I don't laugh I'm just gonna get mad again," she added quickly.

"That's okay, I'll find something among the remains."

"Go for it." Starwell began to pace aimlessly around the clearing, trying to ease some of her restlessness.

The only things Bob could find were fur-armored pants and boots. To co-inside with the game, his chest became bare, rather than retaining an under shirt.

"Nice body," Starwell teased. Perhaps it was a good sign she was picking up a sense of humor. It was better to poke fun at things than to keep getting mad about it; that's what Greg seemed to insist upon, at least.

Then again, Greg was also the kid who kept ending up in detention at school for certain... antics. It also tended to get him grounded at home.

Bob gave an embarrassed, awkward grin. He might have said something, but he became distracted when the Keytools began beeping at each other.

[Glitch,] Gizmo chirped into the silence, [explain something to me.]

[What is it, rogue.]

[I want you to explain to me why you keep calling me 'rogue'. Who says I am a rogue? What gave you that impression?] Gizmo asked Glitch.

[You are not registered. You are not on a Guardian. You are not official.]

[Oh yeah? What does that mean, exactly? That you want me to sign up with the Keytool Collective?] Gizmo quipped.

Starwell cast a glance at her Keytool, but otherwise ignored the conversation the same way she would ignore a family member talking on a cell phone. If Gizmo wanted to talk to one of its own kind, or whatever, that was fine with her.

"Anyway," the girl said, "Matrix ran off that way." She pointed. "He was chasing Mike after he..." She coughed. "Turned you into a deer."

"I know. You don't forget being forced into a ReBoot. Everything felt weird, and I couldn't get over being scared over everything, it was a nightmare."

Starwell turned to look at him. Her face softened into a sympathetic expression. "Yeah... becoming something else isn't much fun. Neither is becoming a wolf that... hungers." She shuddered slightly. "Which I'm gonna become again in a few hours." Her shoulders slumped.

[Glitch,] Gizmo pressed, [you recognize my... companion as something other than a Guardian. Tell me then, what is she?]

Starwell shot her Keytool a warning glare. Even so, part of her mind continued to wonder if she should try trusting Bob with the truth of what she was. Even if he might not believe her.

[Your partner is unconventional,] was all that Glitch replied to Gizmo.

"We'll work through it, Starwell," Bob assured her. He had the cure safely tucked away in his inventory backpack, where he should have kept it all along. Nothing would be able to get to it now. Thankfully, inventory backpacks were weightless and invisible once they were equipped; they were like a storage space you could put things in that were part of you, but were unseen and intangible. Yet you could access its contents at any time.

[Unconventional? Elaborate.] Gizmo chirped gleefully, enjoying the guessing game. It felt Starwell's pain, and it took pleasure in bantering with its fellow Keytool as a mild diversion.

Gizmo knew it couldn't help much with Starwell's infection anyway. All it could do was divert its attention elsewhere instead of indulging in negative emotion as the User seemed to. There were far more pleasant emotions, after all!

[Unknown. Coding is different, unidentifiable.]

[Then what do you think she is?] Gizmo pressed mischievously.

[Unknown.]

Starwell locked eyes with Bob, not even looking at her Keytool. Could she risk it? Could she... try telling him?

"Bob... there's something I want to talk to you about." She scratched her arm

distractedly and broke eye contact, staring at a fern on the ground instead.

"What is it?"

Starwell slowly sat down on a patch of grass. She was silent for a moment or two, gathering her thoughts. "Well... we both know that this game thinks I'm a User," she said, choosing her words carefully. "And we were talking about stuff before. You said you think the Guardians made me to emulate a User? Do you... have any other thoughts on that matter?"

Bob remained silent, looking to the side in thought.

Starwell placed a hand over her Keytool, silently urging it to be quiet. She was nervous enough as it was; she wanted the Keytools to stop their chatter.

"Well, what are you thinking?" Starwell prompted after a short wait. "You must have some thoughts about it." Her voice took on a slight edge due to her nervousness.

Bob smiled, "I think you're a young girl, far away from home."

Starwell let out a breath. "Yeah well that's obvious. But what _else_ would you say I am?" She licked her lips, trying to remember the correct terminology. "My... format?"

"Your format? Well… I don't really know."

"What if it's more obvious than that?" Somehow Starwell managed to look up at him without exactly looking at him. "That maybe... I am a User?"

She felt her energy pulse skip a beat as she awaited his reply.

Bob looked at her. He had a mix of focus, determination, and being unsure, and neither showed itself clearly. He wanted to say something, but what could he say? "I don't know."

Starwell found herself unsure what to say. Memories of her bad experiences with Anna Code back in her Uncle's System before she escaped flooded into her mind. Perhaps it was better if Bob truly thought she was a regular sprite.

"I guess it doesn't matter," she finally amended with a slight shrug. "I feel weird even talking to you about this. There was someone in another system who wanted to... delete me for being what I am."

"I'm not someone," Bob said it with determination, and his old fashioned cocky smile.

"Yeah. Okay."

A snap of a twig and some rustling of leaves caused her head to snap up. Matrix was returning, and he didn't look very happy.

"Hey, Matrix," Starwell greeted quietly. "What happened to Mike?"

"I lost that little-" Matrix perked up, "Bob?"

"Yeah, its me," Bob gave a light but stern look, "You didn't have to chase off Mike."

"He was asking for it."

Bob rolled his eyes and shrugged, not even fazed, "Oh well."

Starwell stood up and brushed a couple of dead leaves from her armor. "Matrix?" she said, getting the burly sprite's attention. "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. I'm just... you know." She trailed off.

Part of her didn't feel like apologizing. Nevertheless, she knew she would have to stick it out with these sprites for a while. It was better to keep things friendly, especially since she knew they cared in their own way.

Matrix rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah... I'm sorry, too."

Bob retained his cocky smile, "Well, now that's out of the way, how about we go ghost hunting?"

"Do we _have_ to?" Starwell almost whined, then became aware of how much like a six-year-old that sounded.

Gizmo beeped a reminder at her. [You want to get cured so that we can leave, don't you?] It flashed a brief hologram of the Main Menu option that only Starwell could see.

She understood. She couldn't leave the game until her infection was cured... at least, it wasn't a good idea to risk it.

"Yeah, we have to," Starwell answered her own question before the others could. "Well," she sighed heavily, "which way do we go?"

"Glitch, Map." Bob examined his Keytool's screen. He pointed in a direction, "That way, out of the forest, by a river and in between some mountains. It isn't as long as it sounds."

Gizmo beeped a few times, confirming this for Starwell's benefit.

"If you guys say so," Starwell remarked. One thought worried her, however. "But what if we don't make it there before..." She clutched her arm, eyeing her glowing skin.

"We'll get there," said Bob, "It going to be okay, Starwell."

"...I'll trust you, Bob," said Matrix, "But you better know what you're getting into."

"I figured that out last night."

Gizmo chirped something comforting at Starwell. She gave the Keytool a small, half-smile, though she didn't feel very assured.

"Let's just get going," she said, already moving forward. She didn't want to think about turning into a furry monster again until she absolutely had to. She clutched her newly equipped bow tightly in her hands, ready for anything.

At least, she hoped she was ready for anything.

"Right, follow me," the Guardian said.

The forest got considerably lighter as they walked, the trees were sparse and the sky could be seen. Soon enough, the three were walking near a cliff, which over looked a large, deep river.

Starwell peered into the water below, momentarily transfixed at the sight of it. She'd always had a fascination with moving water that she couldn't identify or explain. She found herself impressed by how real the graphics made it appear.

Part of her longed to touch the water, to feel its wetness over her hands, to see if it was cool or even cold.

A few fish could be seen jumping. "Anybody wanna go fishing?" she quipped. In truth, she didn't want to go fishing, though it was something she might have tried if she had the luxury of playing a game like this from _outside _the computer.

"Umm Starwell?"

"Kid, we don't have time."

"Forget it," Starwell replied grumpily. "I was just kidding anyway." She was about to start walking again when she noticed a bit of movement down below, along the edge of the river. "Hey, what's that?" she pointed. It didn't look like an animal or anything that had washed up on the shore.

Bob and Matrix stopped to look. Neither of them had a decent enough weapon to face anything big, especially if its some sort of river monster.

Instead of that, they saw yellow and square...

"MIKE!" Matrix yelled.

The TV nearly jumped out of his bitmap as he leaped a full meter into the air, startled. "AHHHH!" He then gasped in and out. "Don't do that!" he wheezed, a bit over-dramatically.

"What're you doing down there?" Starwell called to him.

"Nothing." Mike said simply.

"Just be careful with that staff of yours," Starwell cautioned. "Remember what happened last time." Since she didn't know Mike very well at all, she wasn't quite sure what to make him. But she did know he irritated Matrix (obviously) and that he was prone to... well, clumsiness, at the very least.

"Yeah, I don't want to end up a Null because you were careless," pointed out Bob.

Mike raised his staff, giving it a slight shake. "Practice makes perfect!" he said, holding the ornate, crystalline staff over the water. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, witness as the Magnificent Mike performs his greatest Magical Act yet!"

As a fish jumped out of the water, a wisp of white magic burst from the staff and engulfed the small creature. Within a second, it expanded and grew into a rather large shark-like beast.

The creature looked about, and then grinned hungrily in Mike's direction.

"Run!" Yelled Bob, as he grabbed the Appliance.

Starwell screamed and began to run right behind Bob.

"OW! Go easy on the household appliance!" Mike cried out at Bob. "My warranty has expired-though if I suffer damage, I can have any part replaced at any local repair shop for any ninety-nine-"

"LOOK OUT!" Starwell yelled.

The shark began to swim closer to the shore, licking its chops in anticipation. It's focus seemed to shift from Mike to bigger, juicier prey.

It's gaze settled on Matrix, the biggest sprite with the large muscles. The shark grinned and leaped out of the water, lunging toward the burly sprite.


	19. Chapter 19

Unlike the others, Matrix stayed. "Targeting." The renegade socked the thing. The creature found itself being hurled back into the water, impacting with a mighty splash that soaked Matrix's boots.

"Matrix, come on!" Starwell yelled, stopping in her tracks.

In response, Matrix grinned darkly. "Oh no, I'm finishing this."

"Gross, I don't want to watch," Starwell muttered, remembering the incident with the snake. She turned around and half-covered her eyes. In truth, she knew she might end up doing something… unpleasant again when she became a wolf. She wanted to try and keep her mind as clean as possible until that point.

Then again, who was she kidding? She'd already helped slaughter a clearing full of bandits. Whether she liked it or not she would just have to get used to this reality, for now. The most ironic thing was that she'd seen it all before whenever she played Games from outside the Net. It was just a whole new ballgame when you had to see it up close and personal, not to mention have your senses violated with the stench of blood.

She tried to tune out Mike as the TV began to spout off something about fresh sushi and an ad for dishes and serving utensils.

The game-sprite was floating, or what was left of it, in the water when Matrix was done. "So, we were heading somewhere?"

Starwell said nothing. She simply shook her head and started walking again.

Mike followed her. He started to say something-but then he tripped over a rock. He helped, clutching his staff as he fell. A burst of magical power exploded from the end of the staff, impacting the water. "Whoops," Mike said.

Starwell sighed and shot him an irritated glance. "If that is gonna make more sharks..." she growled.

Only it didn't. It did something much, much worse.

Matrix caught up with the group, and was about to yell at Mike when Bob beat him to the punch. "What did you do?"

Mike stared at the water as it began to rise at an alarming rate. All he could do was shrug his shoulders.

Starwell's eyes widened as she began to back up. Gizmo beeped in alarm as the river proceeded to flow more rapidly. "Uh, guys," she said, "I don't like the looks of this."

"Now we move!" yelled Bob.

Starwell didn't need to be told twice; she began to run away from the water at the same instant the others did.

A powerful wave washed up behind her; it knocked her off of her feet. "Gizmo!" she yelled. "Do s-" Her sentence was cut off as another wave of water hit her. It filled her mouth and forced its way down her throat, threatening to choke her.

"Starwell!" Bob yelled over the sound of the water, "Enzo!"

Matrix, having been behind all of them, hadn't been able to resist the currents.

Starwell found herself being twisted around in the moving rapids like a helpless rag doll. She desperately tried to get her head above the water, but all attempts to swim or kick toward the surface were in vain.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she just happened to end up near the surface. By that point it felt like her lungs were going to explode. She coughed, spluttered and choked as she gasped greedily for air.

She managed to grab onto a floating branch; she slumped over it, unable to speak or utter a sound. She spit water out of her mouth and focused on her breathing, even as the waters continued to rise around her.

Starwell continued to choke and splutter as she clung to her branch. Once she finally managed to stop choking and start breathing more normally, she looked around.

She was in the middle of the flowing rapids, moving so quickly that it seemed dangerous to try and aim for shore. She cringed as she moved past a couple of jagged rocks sticking out of the water, missing one of them by centimeters.

Suddenly she noticed something out of the corner of her eye; a discoloration in the rushing water. The sight of armor and green skin was unmistakable; the sprite was trying to swim, trying to keep his head above water.

"Matrix!" she shouted, stretching an arm in his direction. She used her other arm to cling to the branch as tightly as she could. If she could reach him, she could only hope the branch could support them both.

He was gagging, sputtering. Water was in his lungs, and he couldn't seem to get it out.

The currents whipped him around, he kept getting pulled under.

Then he heard his name, or thought he did, and saw in his struggle Starwell. She was reaching out to him...

"Starw-" A part of what was once a tree trunk whipped in the water. It slammed into him and pulled him too far under to swim out of the currents.

"MATRIX!" Starwell screamed. She clung all the more tightly to the branch as the tree trunk came in her direction. It knocked into her and then rolled, causing an enormous, leafy branch to slam down on top of her.

Her arms scraped against the rough bark as she was forced underwater. She clamped her hands over her mouth to fight against the instinct of inhaling.

Starwell couldn't see anything; she could only hold her breath and allow the currents to carry her along as she desperately hoped her lungs wouldn't burst.

Starwell gasped explosively when her head finally emerged from the surface of the water. She continued to be forced forward, yet somehow she ended up closer and closer to Matrix. She ended up bumping into him once or twice, yet neither of them managed to grab the other.

They continued to be carried and yanked about in the rapid current for a little while. Eventually, Starwell finally managed to grab Matrix's arm.

Then she eyed the shoreline, wondering if Gizmo could do something to get them both out. "Gizmo," she gasped, "uh... form a line!"

Nothing.

Then she noticed the Keytool wasn't attached to her arm. She gasped in horror. Had Gizmo been swept away in the current?

"GIZMO!" she yelled. But there was no reply. No sign of the Keytool anywhere.

Then she noticed something that made her gasp with horror. "MATRIX!" She yelled, pointing.

They were headed straight for a waterfall. They were about to go over.

0o0o0o0o0

"Enzo! Starwell!" Bob yelled. Then he did what he was famous for. He dived right in without thinking.

Bob tried. By the Code, he tried. The water pushed and pulled him, he found himself gurgling water. He tried to keep Starwell and Matrix in his sight, tried to reach them. They disappeared before he could reach them.

He was yelling their names, trying to until he couldn't speak from the water, and couldn't breath because his lungs had stopped.

Just when he thought that he saw something near the shore, something yellow and square, he ran head first into a rock.

"OW! Now that's gotta hurt!" Mike exclaimed with the closest thing he could ever summon to empathy. He stared at the Guardian for a long moment. Mike had managed to grab hold of a rock in the middle of the river, a rather tall rock whose peak stuck through the surface like a pike.

As the unconscious Guardian began to drift by, Mike reached out and grabbed him by the collar of his furred armor. "Looks like we found something, just around the river bend!" the TV remarked.

"Hello?" Mike's arm was straining as he attempted to hold onto Bob. "Ya gotta wake up, partner," he said in a mock cowboy accent. "The Calvary ain't coming."

There was no response. Bob was out cold.

Mike grunted. He decided to try something. He reached for his staff-only that meant letting go of the rock.

The TV screamed as he and Bob began to flow down the river together. Mike gave a frantic wave of his magical staff. "Uh, uh, Open Sesame? Presto?" He began to gag as water flooded into his mouth.

There was a puff of magic, and suddenly Mike and Bob were splashed onto the shore.

Bob collapsed into a heap of arms and legs near Mike. The TV gasped and hacked for a moment, his screen flashing with static.

"Water... water everywhere..." Mike gasped over-dramatically. "It's bad... very bad.. for household appliances!" He clutched himself in a dramatic, pitiful manner. "Tell... my mother... I love her." He sniffled.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Darkness. Darkness, and he wasn't feeling anything. He was floating. Had he been deleted? Someone was calling him... Dot? AndrAIa? No, someone younger...

Starwell.

Matrix gasped for breath in the rushing currents. Starwell was on his arm, she was shrieking at something ahead. Water disappearing... Water disappearing?! Waterfall. _Ah, Shovelware._

Gasping Starwell around the waist, Matrix began to push towards the shore. He wasn't strong enough, the currents were still pulling on them. He had to do something. Anything.

A tree. Its roots were sticking out in the water, almost unaffected by the rushing water. Matrix reached out, and grabbed the closest root. The roots ripped at its base, but it did not break.

He could only hope for the best.

Starwell had bitten down so hard on her lower lip that her teeth drew blood. She wrapped her arms around Matrix's neck as if hanging on for dear life.

"I don't want to die," she whimpered. After everything she had survived so far, she knew now more than ever that she didn't want to go down in a stupid accident in nature. "Please, please don't let go."

"I won't," Matrix assured her. "I'm not going to let go."

"Can we get to the shore, somehow?" Starwell asked through grated teeth. "I... lost Gizmo."

Matrix gritted his teeth. He looked up at the tree roots. "Try to get on my shoulders and climb up."

Starwell looked up. Then she looked at Matrix with wide, fearful eyes. "I'm scared," she whispered, but her words were lost in the noisy rapids.

"I'm scared!" she shouted as some waves slapped the shoreline near the tree. "What if I fall?"

"Don't be... I'm right here I won't let you fall."

Starwell squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. She thought briefly of Uncle Frank's house, where her brother was probably still sleeping on the couch in front of the television, lucky little brat.

She thought briefly of her parents, her school... her friends. Even the annoying, gossiping Donna. After her adventures in the Net, she even missed the most annoying girl that she knew. Who would have imagined?

"Okay," she finally breathed, and gripped Matrix's shoulders. "You better come up right behind me," she told him firmly as she attempted to lift herself up.

"I will," Matrix promised.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Gizmo shrieked as it flowed along with the rapid current, and then ended up going over the waterfall. It let out a loud, Keytool wail during the descent into the rapids below.

It was simply a good thing that Keytools could not drown.

Gizmo continued to bounce and bump along the current for a while, though it became steadily calmer.

A large trout took notice of the moving Keytool and mistook it for food. It swam toward Gizmo and opened its mouth wide, getting ready to snatch and swallow-

And then Gizmo expanded just as the fish attempted this. Gizmo grew in size so rapidly that the fish exploded from the inside out into nothing more than a pile of fragmented pixels that quickly vanished.

Gizmo laughed, and then hurtled itself out of the water and onto the nearby shore. Then it sat there for a long moment.

Whenever left alone, the waiting and silence always became too much for the User Keytool. But what could it do?

Then it got an idea. [Glitch,] Gizmo attempted long-distance communication with the only other Keytool anywhere nearby. [Glitch, answer me. Gliiiiiiitttttcccchhhh...] Gizmo practically wailed.

[-## #$%%-Not reaching-%%# #$%]

[Glitch? Come on, I am separated from Starwell. Where are you and that Guardian of yours?]

[- ###$$##**##%%-]

[Glitch if you're doing that on purpose, it is not funny. Talk to me!]

[- ## -]

[I give up,] Gizmo beeped with the Keytool equivalent of a sigh. Apparently the distance factor (perhaps even getting wet) was effecting both of the Keytools.

Though there seemed to be something else interfering with things as well. Perhaps the Guardian was offline again.

Gizmo decided it would simply have to wait a little while.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Starwell grunted as she grasped a branch above their heads; she carefully maneuvered herself enough to place a boot on Matrix's shoulder, and stepped upward.

With some effort she managed to crawl on top of the tree. It creaked dangerously under her weight as a fresh wave splashed by.

She clung tightly to the tree trunk, her fingers digging into the bark. She remained frozen in place, too startled to move.

"I'm coming up!" Matrix started his climb. The roots were slick, and his weight didn't help any. Just as he pulled himself at the top, one of the roots holding him gave way. He managed to jam holes into the bark for his fingers to latch on to.

That was when he noticed her. "You have to move! I can't pull myself up if you are there!"

"I-I can't!" She trembled. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her energy pulse raced through her veins-or circuits.

She looked at her hands. They were gripping the tree so tightly that her knuckles were white. Her limbs seemed frozen; they seemed to ignore commands from her brain to move.

"You have to!" There was cracking underneath him, _"Starwell!"_

She screamed, and an adrenaline rush seemed to kick in. Her fingers nearly scraped raw against the bark as she forced them to move; she began to crawl forward along the tree trunk.

"There you go! Keep going!" Matrix pulled himself up, wary of the creaking noise and the wild waves.

Starwell whimpered as she continued moving forward. It felt like an impossible distance that she had to cross, but she could only keep going.

She shrieked and flinched at every creak, and every time the tree moved even slightly. "I'm gonna make it," she breathed under her breath with determination. "I'm gonna make it... I'm gonna make it."

She continued to inch forward. Despite the speed, Matrix kept saying encouragements. Eventually Starwell finally made it within arm's reach of the shore. She held her breath as she hauled herself over the roots and dropped onto the solid ground beside it.

Just as she got off the entire tree shifted a bit, creaking dangerously. One of the roots snapped. Her eyes flew wide. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes snapped toward Matrix.

"I'm fine! Keep going!" Matrix shouted.

She moved away from the roots, then pushed herself to her feet. She stumbled forward until she reached a safe distance from the water, then turned to look back.

"Matrix!" she yelled. "Come on!" The roots were cracking; they looked like they wouldn't last much longer.


	20. Chapter 20

Matrix ended up ripping most of the roots as he went, and his hands became raw and even bleed from constantly slipping on the bark. He managed to get to the top, and scrambled to safety.

Starwell watched him, barely breathing until she was sure he was safe. Just as his feet became firmly planted on the soil, the tree finished ripping away from its roots and then tumbled down the waterfall. Matrix had made it with only seconds to spare.

For a moment, Starwell only stared at him.

Then, before even she realized what she was doing, she hugged him. Her shoulders trembled. "We made it," she breathed.

Matrix didn't feel surprise, or discomfort, or anything other than relief. He hugged her back, "Yeah. We did."

Starwell held onto him for a moment longer, then let go and pulled back.

"I lost Gizmo," she said aloud. "I gotta look for him."

"I'm sure he's fine-..." Matrix stopped, a look of realization on his face. "BOB!"

Starwell's eyes widened. She licked her lips, looking determined. "You go look for Bob," she said. "I'll look for Gizmo... meet you back here, okay?" She was already moving.

Matrix stood and watched Starwell go. What else could he do at the moment? He started walking a long the shore. The water was still rapid, the falls were roaring. He saw across the river, just barely, the outline of a fallen sprite and...

Mike. Well, there was worse company. He might have called out to them. He would have. If he hadn't felt the familiar throbbing pain.

What time was it? It couldn't be happening now! Matrix's eyes widened. Starwell!

He turned and bolted, "Starwell!"

Starwell had just started to make her way down a steep ledge, screaming Gizmo's name, when she began to feel strange. It was a familiar, ominous feeling that made her stomach tie itself into knots.

Had she seriously forgotten already? Had she simply survived the dangerous water rapids just to go through this again? Her skin was glowing more brightly than before, indicating it was about to happen again.

She gritted her teeth. "No... no, not again!" She gave a little shriek and sat down on the ground. Her fingers pressed into her temples as she tried to fight it.

Her eyes glanced toward the sky. Sure enough, it had gone dark; the last trace of light in the horizon was vanishing.

"No..." She sucked in a breath through her teeth. "I don't want this to happen again!"

Matrix found her, sitting on the ground in pain. He collapsed when he stopped moving. Pain shot up, ragged breaths became growls, and his code began to rewrite once again.

Starwell glanced sharply in the direction of animalistic sounds, seeing Matrix there. She saw his form begin to change, muscles enlarging as his newly donned armor vanished. She had just enough time to release a small cry before it overtook her again. Her bitmap rippled with silvery fur as her nose and mouth seemed to burst out of her face, extending in length as they became a snout. A furry tail brought up the rear, once again growing from her tailbone.

She collapsed on the ground momentarily, then she shakily got to her feet. She felt hungry. So, so hungry. Her teeth bared and she snarled.

A short distance from her, another wolf howled.

Starwell turned to look at Matrix. Her ears stood erect as she regarded his altered form, then pressed flat against her skull. She barked. Then she worked her mouth to get out a coherent word or two. "Matrix! I-" Her words cut off with a snarl. She stamped her paw in frustration at her inability to speak much.

He felt hungry. He felt very, very hungry. He was drooling. He tried to get the scent of something, but all the water and mud in the air prevented any scents from coming through. He snarled and growled, and he paced, frustrated.

Starwell growled empathically, knowing exactly how he felt. Previous experience as a wolf, however, had taught her that she had more self-control in these situations than Matrix did... at least it seemed that way.

Perhaps it was because she was a User. Unlike Matrix, she even had the limited ability to speak.

"Matrix!" She put herself in his path and looked up at him. Even in wolf forms, where each of them were larger than their normal sprite forms, he was so much larger than her. But she knew he wouldn't hurt her.

"Follow!" She indicated herself with a paw, and then indicated a direction with her snout. Perhaps both of them could look for Gizmo together. She also wanted to keep Matrix away from Bob's general direction, at least for now. Bob would surely be fine on his own... she hoped.

The animal wanted food more than anything else, but this strange wolf in front of him...

Starwell. Matrix blinked, remembering. Animal instincts were riding on him, and he found it difficult to keep his memories or control intact. But he remembered Starwell. Now, anyway. He tried to reply, but all that came out was a weak bark.

She took that at as acknowledgement; she noticed the recognition in his eyes. "Follow," she managed to utter again. It always hurt her throat to speak in this form.

She began to back up, then she slowly turned and moved in a direction that followed alongside the current of the river. "Gizmo," she croaked. "Want... find."

Gizmo? Matrix couldn't remember... It was something annoying though.

Starwell walked slowly alongside the river bank, moving downhill at a gradual pace. She sniffed at the dirt, attempting to pick up Gizmo's scent.

Her snout edged closer and closer to the water until she pressed her nose into the water. She accidentally inhaled a nose-full of water. She snapped her head up, coughing a little. Then she sneezed right in Matrix's face.

Matrix shook his head. Automatically, he cuffed Starwell, playfully.

The She-Wolf whimpered and balked, but then she realized it wasn't a malicious gesture. She bared her teeth, the closest thing she could manage to an impish grin in her current form. She wagged her tail, then she playfully pounced on Matrix.

Matrix yipped. Being larger than Starwell, he was able to push her off. On all fours, his tail wagging in the air, he slapped his forepaws on the ground. The only thought in his mind...

_Play._

Her quest to find Gizmo momentarily forgotten, Starwell growled playfully. She edged around Matrix, then feigned to the left as if getting ready to run away. Instead she bolted around behind him and grabbed his tail between her teeth. Then she yanked his tail.

Matrix yelped. In response, he pounced on her, laying his full weight to keep her down.

Starwell squirmed underneath him, at least she tried to. All she could do was growl indignantly. "No... fair!" she managed to bark out.

Matrix gave a playful growl, and then did the wolfish equivalent of laughing.

Starwell's wolfish face contorted into the closest thing she could manage to a glare. "Let... me... up," she managed to bark. She lifted one paw enough to give his cheek a light cuff.

Reluctant, Matrix moved. He still have the playful attitude though.

Starwell moved away from him, then she looked at him and bared her teeth.

"Catch me!" she dared, and she began to sprint as quickly as her legs could carry her.

Matrix gave the wolfish equivalency of a smile, and bolted after her.

Starwell yipped as she sprinted around the trees. One advantage she had was that she was smaller, slimmer, and therefore more maneuverable.

She barked as she dodged and weaved through a tighter area of the forest, avoiding tree trunks and low branches.

Suddenly she came to a halt, stopping so fast that she nearly tripped over her own feet. Her neck went erect as she looked around, her ears twitching.

She thought she heard something... familiar. Was it... a beeping sound?

Matrix pounced on her. Starwell yelped indignantly, forgetting the sound she had heard. She growled playfully and reached up to nip his ear. She tugged it. He yipped, and lightly smacked her with his paw. Starwell bared her teeth, as if getting ready to bite his nose. Then she licked his face in an affectionate, puppy-dog-like manner.

The beeping noise sounded off again. Matrix noticed the beeping. He growled. Starwell maneuvered herself out from under Matrix, and perked her ears up at the sound.

Gizmo?

She barked in acknowledgement; the Keytool answered enthusiastically. She wagged her tail and began to move toward the sound.

Matrix followed, though he wasn't happy about it. The beeping was annoying.

Starwell found the Keytool laying in the sand next to the water. This area of the river was far more shallow, almost like a wide, gently flowing stream.

"Giz-mo," she managed to speak. It always hurt her throat when she spoke in this form, but she could manage.

Gizmo beeped positively, and then zipped toward her and attached itself to her forearm.

The Keytool chirped repeatedly, delighted and relieved to be rejoined with Starwell.

Starwell bared her teeth in the wolf equivalent of a smile, then she looked back at Matrix.

That was when she remembered something. "Bob," she barked before she could stop herself. Then she glanced at Matrix in concern. Could the bigger wolf be trusted not to attack Bob if they found him? Or Mike?

...Bob?

For a moment, the name rang empty. Then, it hit him. The River, the rushing water, he and Starwell being taken in, Bob diving in for them...

Eyes wide, and ears erect, Matrix knew he needed to find the Guardian.

Starwell saw his expression; its meaning registered in her mind. "Matrix," she barked, attempting to get his attention. "Is... it... safe?"

She hoped he understand what she meant, especially since she couldn't talk much in this form. Could they trust themselves around Bob, or would they see him as potential prey? Would Matrix trust himself?

Matrix began moving, growling at Starwell in a gesture to follow him.

Starwell hesitated, her ears pressing flat against her skull. She whined, staring at the larger wolf with wide, uncertain eyes. She did not attempt to speak, she simply gave him a long, meaningful look. _Are you sure it's safe? For Bob?_

With his head, he gestured for her to follow, and then bounded off.

Starwell growled, then decided that she had no choice. She leaped into a sprint and followed him. If he wanted to take a chance like this, maybe she could stop him if he forgot himself and tried to harm Bob.

They raced through the forest until they came to a discoloration on the ground. One of the was the familiar Guardian, who seemed to be stirring. The other was an all-too-familiar TV.

Mike let out a yowl as the two wolves approached him. "There are strays in this forest! Call the dog-catchers!"

Starwell gave the TV a look and sat on her haunches. "Here, fetch!" Mike threw his magician's staff. Starwell caught it between her teeth. She held it, narrowing her eyes at the TV.

Matrix faced Mike, and growled, showing teeth.

_Hunger..._

Starwell's gaze shot toward the bigger wolf with concern. She felt the pangs of hunger and the thirst for blood inside her, too. The almost feral instinct was amplified when in the presence of a potential victim.

She bit down on the staff in her mouth so hard she nearly cracked it. She then moved forward and positioned herself between Matrix and Mike. She met the larger wolf's eyes, attempting to stare him down and get him to back off.

Matrix showed his teeth a while longer, then snorted and sat down.

Starwell felt relieved.

Mike finally stopped trembling. "There, there, Fido," he said, "come on, let me have my staff back!" He grasped the end of it and tugged.

The She-wolf growled and held her grip firm.

On her furry foreleg, Gizmo beeped. [Hey Glitch. How are you doing, pal?]

[Waiting.]

Mike continued to tug on the end of his staff. Starwell growled, baring her teeth, but the TV didn't take the hint.

Not wanting to trust him with the staff anymore, Starwell gave her furry head a toss and flung it into the river.

[Well that just proves it,] Gizmo beeped at Glitch. [Your Guardian is a weightless bum.] It was an obvious attempt to annoy the other Keytool.

[Waiting…]

[Is that the only word you know right now? Are you... Glitchy?]

Starwell gave a short bark at her Keytool. Then she slowly walked toward Bob. She nuzzled his cheek with his nose, trying to wake him up.

She found herself eyeing his bare chest. Gizmo noticed. [Care to snack on some beefcake?] the small joker beeped.

Starwell momentarily forgot her hunger. It was replaced by irritation; she snatched the Keytool off of her foreleg, clenching it just enough between her teeth for Gizmo to feel it.

Gizmo squawked in indignation.

"…Frisket… go away…" Bob muttered.

Starwell released her Keytool. Gizmo clattered on the ground, then gave a comical series of beeps as it re-attached itself to her foreleg. The She-wolf cocked her head to one side. _What's a Frisket? _It took her a moment to remember what Matrix had told her, back in the cell. _Oh yeah, his pet dog…_

Feeling a hint of that devilish, playful streak return, she bared her teeth. She planted her front paws on Bob's chest and grabbed a mouthful of his hair. She tugged.

In the meantime, Mike was airing a commercial about bad breath in pets and a special "cyberpaste" designed to cleanse teeth in mongrels.

"Ow, ow, OW, OW!" Bob shot awake, and found a wolf creature on him. "Uh..."

Starwell's wolfish lips pulled away from her teeth in the lupine equivalent of a grin. Well, at least it couldn't be said she wasn't having fun in this form. Sort of. Or maybe she was getting used to it.

...Scary thought.

Gizmo beeped again. [Hey, Glitchy. Done waiting yet?] it teased.

[…]

"Um, Starwell?" Bob grunted. "Can you let go? Please?" Starwell yipped and backed off, getting off of the Guardian.

Gizmo beeped something again, but this time it was to Starwell. The She-wolf gave the Keytool a look, but... she was still in her playful mode. She gave another bared-tooth grin. Then she snatched Glitch off of Bob's arm and held it between her fangs.

"_Hey_!" Bob jumped up. It was a bad mistake, as he ended up falling back down, face first. His legs couldn't hold his weight, and he felt very exhausted.

Starwell cocked her head to one side, barely noticing as Mike began to quote a commercial about painkillers or something. She cast a glance toward Matrix, who simply seemed to be sitting there. She then glanced back at Bob. She felt guilty for what she'd done, though her playful wolf side just couldn't resist.

She did not run off with the Keytool that was not hers. But she did crouch and tighten her grip on Glitch, as if daring the Guardian to come get it.

"Oh come on..." said Bob, "Didn't anyone tell you to respect your Guardians? Please give my Keytool back."

Starwell grunted, then set Glitch on the ground in front of Bob.

[Your Guardian is a spoilsport,] Gizmo beeped.

Glitch did not respond. Bob picked up his Keytool and placed it back on his forearm, where it nestled in. Then the Guardian stood up and brushed himself off.

Starwell cocked her head to one side, eyeing Bob. "Still… have… cure?" she asked. _He'd better still have it,_ she thought. Otherwise she wasn't sure what she would do.

"Right here," Bob acknowledged, producing it from his inventory pack. The bottle's cap was still firmly in place, and the bottle was still half-full.

Starwell gave a little nod. Then she slumped down against the ground, resting her furry chin on her forepaws.

Thankfully Mike was, for once, not being overly annoying. He was playing a harmonica tune and toasting a marshmallow over a nearby campfire. How he'd managed to build a campfire so quickly was hard to say. The even bigger mystery was where he got the marshmallow.

Matrix seemed both tired and hungry. Werewolves were largely animalistic in their instinctual need for food. After a while though they could become weary, especially if they weren't hunting or eating.

Starwell eyed him for a moment, as if to make sure he wasn't going to attack anyone. Then her eyelids drifted shut.

Gizmo began to chirp and beep in sync with the harmonica Mike was playing on his screen. It became evident that Keytools were not designed to carry a tune. Perhaps it was doing it to annoy Glitch again.

Matrix paced, as everyone slept. There was a dull throb in his stomach.

Starwell slept for a little while, lost in a dream. This time it was a strange dream, one where her wolfish instincts knawed at her subconscious.

_She saw herself running in a field; her paws twitched in her sleep as she chased after a deer. Only as she got closer, she realized it was a strange-looking deer, a buck with blue fur and silver antlers._

_Her wolfish instincts took over. Her fangs snapped at one of the hindquarters until she grabbed it firmly; she caused the deer to stumble._

_The buck's eyes flew wide, and she sank her teeth into his neck, tasting a delicious mixture of game-blood and energy-_

_What was she doing?!_

"BOB!" Her head snapped up as her eyes flew wide. She suddenly found herself wide awake as she panted, her heart pounding.

That startled everyone.

"Wha- What!? What happened?!" Bob jumped up.

It also startled Matrix, who began to snarl at those closest to him...

Starwell swallowed, and panted a few times. A couple of beeps from Gizmo brought her mind back to the present, reminding her of who and where she was.

She let out a slow sigh of relief. "Sorry," she barked. "Bad dream."

Bob let out a breath and relaxed, "That's alright."

Matrix was still snarling.

"Matrix? Matrix, what's wrong?"

Starwell glanced warily at the other wolf. She tried to say something, anything, but it only came out as a growl. Her throat was starting to hurt.

There was another noise, something almost like a growl... no, not quite. It was just Mike snoring. She shot the TV an irritated glance.

"Hey, hey, Matrix? Come on now, Its just me." Bob slowly walked towards the werewolf, "Matrix-"

The animal pounced, and sank its teeth into Bob's shoulder.

Starwell barked, momentarily startled.

Then she let out a louder bark, attempting to say a name. It didn't quite come out. Then she leaped onto Matrix and bit down on his ear, trying to get his attention away from the Guardian.

Starwell snarled, forgetting herself for a few seconds. A deep, feral instinct told her to fight back against the other wolf, for the potential prey if nothing else.

But that wasn't prey. It was Bob, a friend.

She sat down on her haunches, flattening her ears against her skull. She felt a pang of guilt when she noticed Matrix's ear. But still... what else could she have done?

Matrix backed off and whirled on Starwell, snarling, teeth bared. A small piece of his ear was missing. She whimpered. Then her head snapped toward Bob. She tried to speak, to ask if he was okay-only a few fractured syllables came out.

Bob, sweaty and in pain, smiled. "I'm okay, I'm okay."

The she-wolf's ears pressed flat against her skull, her eyes widening in horror as realization dawned on her. Did this mean that Bob was infected now, too?

A trickle of game-blood collected on the outside of Matrix's ear; a couple of small droplets dripped onto his dark fur. His ear twitched with discomfort.

Bob sat up and examined his shoulder. Large tooth marks were present in the armor and a portion of it had been torn. He saw the wolves peering at him out of the corner of his eye; he cast them a re-assuring glance.

It took Matrix a moment to clear his limited processor. He was trying to remember… something. It took him a moment just to remember what he was trying to remember. When it suddenly dawned on him what he'd done, his ears pressed flat against his skull and he whimpered.

Starwell seemed reassured that the bigger wolf wasn't about to make another aggressive move. She lowered herself onto her haunches, releasing a soft whimper of her own.

The Guardian was checking something with his Keytool. Glitch beeped and whirred, and Bob was nodding. His eyes were thoughtful.

"What?" Starwell managed to bark.

Gizmo responded to her instead. [Glitchy confirmed that if we defeat the ghost before three days pass, Bob won't need the cure.]

Well, that was good news at least. It meant that, as long as they moved swiftly enough, they wouldn't have to worry about Bob after all. They would only have to worry about her and Matrix.

Matrix barked weakly. It seemed like an apologetic sound, directed at Bob.

"Look, don't worry about it," Bob told him reasonably. "We'll find the Spirit of Ages, and then we'll find a way to end this game."

A loud noise cut into the conversation. Starwell turned her head to see that Mike was still sound asleep, snoring. His mouth-or speaker, or whatever-moved in rhythm with the noises he made. On his screen there was an image of a saw slowly moving back and forth across a log.

Bob rolled his eyes and straightened, brushing himself off. "Well," he said, "is everybody ready to go?" Indeed, the sky was just beginning to brighten with faint colors, indicating pre-dawn.


	21. Chapter 21

A moment passed, and the sky brightened as the sun began to poke through the trees. That was when the werewolf curse began to revert for the daytime cycle.

Starwell gasped and Matrix grunted. Somehow though, turning back into regular sprite-forms was less painful or nerve-wracking than transforming into wolves.

The girl had no idea how it felt for Matrix, but for her it felt a little like waking from a weird dream to find yourself in your normal body, instead of weighing fifty pounds extra or having an anatomy that she wasn't used to. Once again finding herself in her underwear, she fell to her hands and knees with a sharp gasp.

Matrix caught himself as well; he was also in his game default underclothes. Bob gave each of them a moment to regain their composure, then the Guardian held out a hand to Matrix. The Renegade took it and allowed himself to be pulled up.

"Bob…" Matrix eyed the tooth marks on the Guardian's shoulder. "I bit you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it," Bob told him. "We're almost where we need to be."

"Gizmo told me," Starwell breathed, still not quite herself yet, "that so long as we get to the ghost and kill it quickly… you won't be affected permanently."

Bob nodded.

"Then we should get going," Matrix grunted. "Come on, Pup. On your feet." He extended a hand to Starwell.

The girl shot Gizmo an irritated glance as the Keytool somehow managed to mimic an "arf, arf" with beeps and chirps combined. She then grasped Matrix's hand and allowed herself to be pulled up.

"Mike," Bob raised his voice to try and wake the TV. "Let's go."

There was no response, except for another deafening snore.

"MIKE!" Matrix bellowed.

The TV screamed and jumped to his feet, his bitmap nearly white. "Great Norton's Ghost, don't do that!" He clutched at whatever might be the approximate area of his heart-whatever the TV-sprite equivalent was.

Starwell sighed. "I want some armor," she complained. "Or at least some clothes. Shoes if nothing else."

"Maybe we'll find something on the way," Bob said. "Ready to go?"

It wasn't long before they continued their trek through the forest. Mike sang to himself as he followed Bob; the Guardian took a slight lead ahead of everyone else. Starwell grunted and whimpered softly as her bare feet protested at walking across the rough terrain; Matrix ended up letting her ride piggy-back temporarily on his back again.

"Matrix?" Starwell murmured softly to her friend as she hugged her arms around him for support.

"Yeah?" The Renegade didn't glance at her or pause his stride, but she had his attention.

"What's gonna happen?" Starwell swallowed. "I mean, uh… you know, when we beat the ghost."

"We'll deal with that then, kid."

"But there's only enough cure for one. That's what Bob said."

Matrix seemed thoughtful. "We'll talk about this later," he told her indicatively.

Anything Starwell might have said in response was cut off when Bob suddenly announced, "We're here!"

Indeed, they found themselves entering a large graveyard. It wasn't the nice kind of graveyards Starwell had seen back in her own world, where the headstones are in good condition and clearly visible. This place appeared ancient with worn headstones, some of them partially broken, with barely discernable markings carved in an ancient, foreign script.

A light fog rolled along the ground; it was only ankle-high and it chilled their feet as they stepped toward the first row of gravestones. Coffin-shaped openings were open here and there throughout the graveyard, possible traps for a misstep to fall into-or a way for things to come out of, perhaps.

Bob motioned for the others to wait and he checked with Glitch. "Watch out for the openings in the ground," he warned. "According to Glitch, those are spots where game sprites can spawn from once the battle starts."

"That means encountering the ghost is a scripted event," Matrix mused aloud.

The Guardian nodded. "But there's a problem."

"What?" Matrix turned to look at his friend. He felt Starwell's arms tighten nervously around him.

"Some scripted events can only be initiated through direct User interaction, or the presence of the User," Bob explained.

Starwell suddenly felt all eyes settle on her. She swallowed nervously.

"Well, looks like it's all up to you, little lady," Mike said in a cowboy accent.

"Uh, what am I supposed to do?" Starwell asked. If she had been thinking clearly, she would have remembered the basic things she used to do outside the Net when playing games. Right now, she felt out of her element and more confused than anything.

"It looks like your format is gonna help us get to the ghost, Starwell." Matrix squatted near the ground. "You need to go on ahead. Don't worry, we'll be right behind you."

"Yeah… okay." Starwell tentatively climbed off of him, shivering as her bare feet touched the ground. How could Matrix stand being barefoot in this area? The cold fog seemed to penetrate her skin to the bone and the ground felt squishy and damp.

"Be careful, Starwell," Bob told her.

"Yeah…" Starwell sucked in a deep breath, and took point.

They proceeded slowly through the graveyard, walking carefully as they went. True to their word, Matrix and Bob followed close behind, with Mike bringing up the rear. Bob had to remind the TV at least twice to stay quiet and Matrix's keen reflexes prevented Starwell from falling into one of the open graves. The main problem was that the further the went, the thicker the fog became.

By the time they reached the heart of the graveyard the fog had risen and completely surrounded them. It was almost thick enough to cut with a butter knife.

"According to Glitch," Bob whispered, "increased fog is a sign that this event has been triggered. We just need to go a little further-"

Starwell had taken another step forward. That was when all hell broke loose.

An ear-splitting shriek rippled through the area, causing Starwell's energy pulse to skip a beat or two. A bright flash of light came from a random direction, and then a portion of the fog cleared in an approximate battle-field area. The thick mist remained in the surrounding area like an intangible barrier.

The spirit became visible, hovering above the ground in all its fury. It barely had a shape or form. Visually, it would have been indiscernible from the surrounding fog if it wasn't for the white aura that illuminated its form, or the bright white eyes.

"This is it!" Bob unsheathed his sword and stood ready.

Matrix tensed, readying his fists.

"I don't have any weapons!" Starwell exclaimed. "Or armor!" she gasped as an afterthought, attempting to cover her exposed bitmap with her long, skinny arms. It did little good.

The Spirit of Ages advanced angrily. A bolt of energy expanded from its long, outstretched arm and impacted Mike. The TV yowled as a small portion of his circuitry fried, and he was sent flying into the fog.

The ghost then redirected its attention on the three sprites.

"Not today, game sprite," Matrix growled, his gold eye already glowing red.

"Matrix, wait-!" Bob began.

That was when a silver energy wave erupted from the spirit, engulfing the trio. It was an effect that the ghost had on those infected by the curse; it could induce them to transform at will, as long as they were in close proximity.

Starwell screamed in pain and clutched at her head as the familiar agony threatened to overtake her. She was vaguely aware of her companions grunting in discomfort as well, though she didn't have time to notice. Her body pulsed and bulged as muscles grew and her form became larger, rippling with fur as a snout grew from her head and a tail sprouted stem-like from her rear.

The transformation had come so suddenly and unexpectedly that it took her a moment to recover. She felt mildly dazed, though a low growl behind her made her snap back to awareness.

Matrix's altered form was all-too-familiar now, a larger and more muscular wolf with dark fur and a greenish tinge. Beside him stood another wolf, one that was sort of a creamy blue in color with a silver tail, ears and underbelly.

Starwell blinked, staring at them. "Bob?" she managed. Damn it, she'd thought she wouldn't have to deal with this again until nightfall!

Unfortunately, the two other wolves seemed more feral than anything else. Their animalistic instincts had taken over, courtesy of the spirit; it had full control over them now, in this form.

Fortunately for Starwell… it could not take control of a User, regardless of the fact that she shared the curse. She still had her mind and her free will.

But she quickly realized that she had other problems.

The spirit cackled, sounding more like a beast on a quest for vengeance than a shrieking ghost. Bob crouched, and Matrix prepared to pounce.

Starwell's eyes went wide. "Oh boy," she squeaked, just as the larger Matrix-wolf leaped at her. "GIZMO, DO SOMETHING!" she yelled as she hit the dirt. Cold earth smacked against her cheek as she hit the ground face-first, just as Gizmo clicked and altered shape into a large pole.

Matrix slammed against the pole full-force, and slid to the ground, momentarily dazed.

Starwell picked herself up and spat out a bit of gravel. She yipped as Bob pounced on her, knocking her on her side; he bared his teeth and snared in her face. She hissed and reacted instinctively, chomping down on his leg with just enough force to distract him; then she maneuvered her body enough to kick him aside.

"Bob!" she barked. "Stop! Don't… want… _to hurt you!"_

Something in Bob's eyes flickered momentarily. A spark of recognition, perhaps? A momentary memory? However, whatever it was didn't last long; he lunged at her again, forcing her to duck and twist out of his way. Her ears pressed flat against her skull and she whimpered when she realized Matrix was recovering.

"You… bully!" She managed in the direction of the ghost. "Gizmo, elect-" Her voice caught in her throat, sounding more like a strangled growl than a command. She pointed a paw in the direction of the ghost, however; Gizmo got the idea.

A powerful electrical blast erupted from Gizmo, engulfing the spirit's upper body. In the meantime, Starwell kept moving to maintain her distance from Bob and Matrix, managing to make herself a difficult target.

Then the spirit made its next move, as only a Game Boss could. It released a shriek, and the two other werewolves stopped. The ghost then vanished into the ground as Bob and Matrix took their cue to disappear into the fog, leaving Starwell to glance about in puzzlement.

Growls filled the air, and game sprites began to emerge from the ground. Skeletal forms came up through the ground, small spirits floated up out of the open graves. The Boss had temporarily backed off. Its minions became the first wave of game sprites. No doubt the Spirit of Ages hoped they would finish her off.

Starwell's lips peeled away from her teeth as she snarled in frustration. A quick glance about told her there were about a dozen of them, and they were all coming at once.

A ferocious huff escaped her throat. "Bring it on," she growled, and allowed the animalistic side of her coding to take over.

Skeletal bitmaps crunched and shattered in a frenzy, bits and pieces flew about. The small ghosts flew about her menacing, striking a few tentative blows with their spiritual attacks; it ebbed away a portion of her health and willpower, but they were vulnerable to energy attacks. A few commands to Gizmo and they dissipated into nothingness like mist fading in a breeze.

A loud roar announced the return of the Boss, the Spirit of Legends; it was back and more furious than ever. Starwell's jaw cracked as she whirled and howled, getting ready for an attack.

Only this caused her to lose focus on her general surroundings. A heavy weight thumped against her out of nowhere and pinned her down; Matrix had returned as well and pounced. He snarled, and he bit down on her ear for good measure.

Starwell yelped, then cuffed him. He let go and snarled in her face. _Well,_ she thought as she tried to squirm out from under him, _I guess that was sorta fair… an ear for an ear._ Gizmo was hissing on her arm; Bob was circling them like a stalking predator, droplets of salvia oozing from the corners of his mouth. If she managed to get away from Matrix, she'd have to deal with him next.

Or not.

"Gizmo!" she barked. "Contain Bob!" Then she kicked upward with all her might, her claws slashing across Matrix's underbelly. It did very little harm due to his thick, furry pelt and heavy muscles, but it did make him yip.

Bob suddenly found himself confined by the same electrical rope that had helped him defeat the Beast of Ages in the first place. He writhed and struggled on the ground as the glowing wire held him; it stretched just enough to allow some leeway. A light jolt from the altered Keytool then stunned the Guardian, discouraging any further resistance for the moment.

Meanwhile, Starwell had her hands-or mouth-full. Matrix was still on top of her, his heavy bulk weighing her down, but she'd managed to twist just enough to grip the scruff of his neck between her teeth. She couldn't maneuver very well, but at least it limited his head mobility; he couldn't exactly bite her.

The Boss hovered just overheard, its mere presence taunting. It hissed, and it seemed to command Matrix to redouble his efforts.

The User-girl snarled, then risked letting go of the bigger wolf. "Matrix!" she grunted. "Stop, please!" It took some effort to speak, not to mention concentration, but she managed. "Matrix! It me! Starwell!"

The dark-colored wolf actually seemed to hesitate. Starwell? That name rang familiar somewhere deep in his processor. But why?

The ghost shrieked again; Matrix's mind became more clouded and his eyes glazed over momentarily.

"MATRIX!" Starwell exploded. "Please, STOP!"

A feral snarl escaped the Renegade's mouth. Hot breath smelled rancid against her face as the front side of his fangs knocked against her forehead. Nevertheless, he seemed to battling internally; his muscles stiffened and the tendons in his throat stuck out like steel rods.

Gizmo began squeaking even as it maintained its current rope-form. [Glitch, you've got to help somehow. Move your lumbering Guardian, you've done it before!]

Glitch seemed to consider. Indeed, the situation seemed dire, so… [Disengage,] the standard Keytool ordered the unorthodox one.

After a moment's hesitation, the electrical rope gave one final, sharp jolt to make sure the altered Guardian's regenerative state didn't enable him to regain consciousness, then Gizmo untangled itself from the furry mass.

Glitch clicked and whirred, and suddenly the altered form of Bob rose off the ground, eyes still closed. The Keytool was in control.

In the meantime, Matrix had struggled briefly against the code that controlled him. His inner conflict had distracted him enough so that Starwell could slip out from underneath him unscathed, but by the time she was back on her feet the spirit had already taken control again.

The dark-furred werewolf howled, ready to lunge as Gizmo returned to Starwell's forearm. The Renegade was just about to pounce when a blur of blue and silver tackled him and pinned him to the ground. It was Bob, being piloted by Glitch.

Starwell backed off and wasted no time turning back to the spirit as the sprites battled. She had to beat this thing, fast.

"Gizmo, stats," she ordered in a gargling bark.

[Energy reserves; fully recharged,] Gizmo reported to her after scanning the Boss. [Health levels, approximately seventy-four percent.]

Starwell blew out a breath. She knew how this type of scenario worked, now that she remembered some of the games she had played. Some of the tough Boss Battles in games were such that you knocked the powerful being's health down a portion, then it would withdraw and you'd have to deal with a wave of lesser game sprites. Once that was done, the Boss returned for another round and the cycle would begin again until you reached the final and beat the thing.

She tried to ignore Matrix and Bob behind her as she focused her attention on the Boss; she could only hope they wouldn't delete each other.

"Gizmo," she snapped, "power attack, full force!"

The Keytool sent another powerful blast into the spirit's being, knocking its health levels down to fifty-nine percent. It shrieked, then it raised its arms and began to glow as it channeled its energy for a forceful attack of its own.

Starwell let out a strangled yelp as a lightening-like blast struck her in the side, sending her sprawling against the ground. Her muscles tensed and throbbed as the blackened area of her furred pelt smoldered; a portion of her bitmap had been scorched.

It hurt. A lot.

The Spirit of Ages cackled manically, a cruel, taunting sound that was worse than nails on a chalkboard. It set Starwell's teeth on edge, causing her to shudder in spite of herself. The ghost gave her a look, then once again withdrew into the fog.

Another wave of game sprites came up out of the ground. This time they were partially decomposed skeletal corpses, more zombie-like than anything. Small bits of flesh fell from their bones as they moved.

Starwell glanced about. Matrix had apparently disengaged and run into the fog again, at the command of the spirit; Bob's form moved nearer to her, his eyes still shut. Apparently Glitch was still running the show there.

The She-wolf glanced at the unconscious Guardian and his Keytool, then eyed Gizmo. Her Keytool chirped positively, and then she picked herself up and moved into a defensive stance. "Bring it on," she snarled in the direction of the game sprites. She allowed her instinctual hunger to take more of a forefront. By the time she was fully engaged in battle, she had willfully given herself over to the werewolf code, becoming feral.

Unlike Matrix and Bob, a full User simply had the option of ignoring that mode/code unless choosing to let it take over willingly. It simply took a little initiation from Starwell to kick in, perhaps even with a little aid from Gizmo. The User-Keytool had access to in-game User commands, after all.

This time there were sixteen game sprites in this wave, thankfully none of them were ghosts. Once again bones crunched and shattered, accompanied by chunks of flesh tearing and dropping all over the battle area. Starwell didn't even realize that she was swallowing some of the mouthfuls she bit off of game sprites until the sharp pain of a bone splinter caught in her throat. She ignored it and continued her feral frenzy in the battle.

Soon there were only three left. Glitch used a thrust of Bob's head to knock one of them into the fog; it could be seen breaking apart just before it vanished into the thick mist.

Unfortunately, that was when one of the other sprites grabbed Bob's tail from behind and yanked. If the Guardian hadn't been off-balance at that moment, or so close to an open grave, perhaps he would have simply stumbled slightly. Instead, he ended up falling into the open ground, landing inside an open stone coffin that slammed shut on top of him.

[GLITCH YOU KLUTZ!] Gizmo shrieked as Starwell ripped a game sprite in half with her claws. A firm kick of her hindquarters knocked the final sprite into a large gravestone, causing it to shatter as pieces of rotten flesh flew in every direction.

Starwell then slumped onto the ground, shivering a little against the chilly soil. Part of her wondered if Bob was okay, but she couldn't worry about that now. The Boss would be returning soon… with Matrix under its control.

She did permit herself to rub her throat and gag, though. The flesh on those game sprites had smelled rancid; how could she _stand_ swallowing it, even in full feral mode? She made a face and gave a mental command to disable that mode, for now. It felt so strange being able to give out some commands to her own form, as if she was piloting a self-aware User avatar while physically in the game.

Unless maybe she _was_ a self-aware User-avatar in a manner of speaking. Game coding, and perhaps Gizmo, probably assisted with that.

The Spirit of Ages reappeared almost too quickly above her head, zipping out of the fog so quickly it appeared to teleport over her. She snarled and readied her Keytool, only to be knocked flat against the ground again.

"Matrix!" she grunted, more surprised and indignant than anything. "ARGH!" she yowled as his sharp teeth sank into her collar bone area. She kicked upward with her hindquarters, making sure he felt her claws just enough to be distracted.

His teeth released her as his mouth opened in a howl of pain. On impulse, she then made a move based on something she had seen once on National Geographic; she chomped down on the end of his snout, particularly over his nose. She tasted werewolf game blood; it burned against her tongue like acid, but she held on. Obviously the game tried to discourage werewolves from attacking or feeding upon each other.

Matrix whined and growled, attempting to thrust free; Starwell held on. He cuffed her with clawed forepaws. Her thick pelt took the brunt of it, but light scratches formed that drew blood.

Starwell eased her fangs just enough to try and speak. "G-Giz-mo!" she croaked, but didn't get a chance to say any more. Matrix became free of her grip and he cuffed her across the face, then bit down on her throat.

At least, he started to.

Gizmo clicked and whirred, then apparently it decided to borrow a trick from Glitch, sort of. It continued to whir as it interfaced with Matrix's mechanical eye; it began to glow red. A small exchange of code commenced, just a bit, in silence as Gizmo accessed a portion of Matrix's processor and modified a little of the game coding that permitted the Boss to control him.

A moment passed. Matrix's jaw relaxed and he blinked, then he took a step back as if in a daze. On the ground, Starwell gasped sharply and rubbed at her abused throat.

The Spirit of Ages was not happy. It shrieked in displeasure as it realized it could no longer use either of its new minions.

Starwell coughed as she got to her feet, still rubbing her throat. _Come on,_ she told herself. _Get it together._ In a way, she was almost grateful to be a werewolf at the moment. The odd new coding that the game had formatted into her form had given her instincts. It made her more impulsive, but the benefit was that she thought less about what was doing; she simply acted. Perhaps that was a plus.

Her entire body seemed to throb in pain due to the abuse she'd suffered during this entire battle, but her muscles primed as she steeled herself, knowing there was more to come. She looked the Spirit directly in the eye and snarled her challenge.


	22. Chapter 22

Matrix shook his head as if to clear the fuzz out of his processor. Where was he? What had he been doing? He couldn't remember. The only thing he could think of was a strange sense of urgency… he needed to do something. But what?

He looked at a nearby werewolf, one that was growling at a spirit-form that hovered above her. He found himself growling at the spirit. He couldn't remember what it was, but something told him that he needed to be wary of it.

Starwell made a bold dash toward the spirit, leaping toward it with her fangs bared and her claws splayed almost cat-like. However, she realized too late that physical force was not only ineffective; it was ill-advised. She passed right through the Boss, and it absorbed some of her energy as she did.

Her form skidded and thumped along the ground until a large gravestone stopped her tumble. She then lay still, wheezing and huffing as her tender muscles throbbed and her energy levels dropped painfully.

Matrix snapped out of his mental fog and focused his attention on the spirit. Saliva dribbled from the corners of his mouth as he whirled toward the ghost. A fierce howl escaped his throat as he ran toward the ghost, preparing to pounce-

-And then he was struck by an energy bolt from the spirit's fingertips, which impacted him between his forelegs. He yelped in agony as a brutal scorch mark appeared on his fur, leaving the flesh beneath his pelt burned and tender.

He snarled and threw his head back, then cut loose with an ear-piercing howl of his own. This time it wasn't merely noise, it was a Feat that he hadn't used yet. His altered coding enabled him access to features that he hadn't used up until this point.

The Feat seemed to stun the Spirit for a moment, but only somewhat. It had a strong willpower and was mostly immune to such attacks. It shrieked and raised its hands above its head, then channeled more of its energy into a new power attack. A powerful fireball formed between its long digits, which it then flung at Matrix.

Matrix's self-preservation protocols had at least enough sense to fling himself out of the way before the fireball hit the ground. A small crater formed with its impact, blackening the ground. Matrix tumbled and then came to a stop; it took him a moment to remember what he was doing.

Gizmo was shrieking nearby; the sound made Matrix growl softly. The sound was annoying, and it belonged to something equally annoying. He knew that much.

The Keytool was trying to get the attention of Starwell, who was still stunned but starting to recover. Her eyelids flickered several times, and she shook her head. She tried to speak, but only a grunt came out.

Gizmo continued to click and whir. [Starwell!] it exclaimed. [GET UP!]

She blinked. _Huh?_ She looked up. _Oh…_ Her eyes flew wide. The Spirit of Ages was coming right toward her!

Starwell struggled to stand; her legs faltered, causing her to stumble. She was almost completely drained of energy and her muscles felt like they were on fire.

Her mouth opened as the Spirit drew closer, but she could not find her voice. The powerful game sprite glowed eerily, engulfed by its own aura, and then shot white hot energy into her form.

After that, Starwell knew nothing.

Matrix snarled. He saw another beast go down in a furry heap, feeling a strong urgency to…

To what? He had to remember something…

The Spirit of Ages shrieked again, turning its attention on Matrix. That was when he remembered something; that _thing_ was something that needed to be defeated.

He barked menacingly as he feigned to the right, then zipped to the left in order to dodge an energy blast that the Boss flung at him. He bolted forward, just underneath the Spirit as he snapped his teeth at the ghost's feet. His fangs only encountered air as he tried to chomp down on an intangible presence; contact with the spirit's form only produced a mild draining effect.

He whirled around, finding himself behind the spirit. He cut loose with a loud howl, saliva as well as venom dripping from his fangs as he glared menacingly at the Boss.

It needed to be taken down. But how? He wanted nothing more than to go at it again and again, to rip into it tooth and claw. But that didn't work on this nonphysical entity.

It was hard to think, especially since he had to keep moving about to dodge attacks. He growled and gripped a chunk of broken gravestone in his mouth. With a fling of his head, he tossed it at the spirit.

The Boss dodged it easily, perhaps out of reflex; since it was immune to physical attacks, the gravestone probably wouldn't have hurt it any.

Or would it?

Matrix narrowed his eyes. Were there items around the graveyard that might effect the Spirit? This place was heavily influenced by the supernatural within the game reality, apparently.

The Spirit of Ages advanced toward him; the air around it cackled with electricity as it prepared another attack.

The Renegade thought quickly, as much as his limited processing capability permitted him while under the influence of the animalistic game coding. He looked in Starwell's direction, then glanced at her arm.

If only he had Gun…

Then an idea came to him. Would it work?

He bounded toward the unconscious female sprite, narrowly missing another attack directed at him. He then snatched the Keytool from her arm, clenching it gently between his teeth.

Gizmo beeped and hissed indignantly. It didn't like being taken away from its User-sprite in the slightest, and it wailed comically when Matrix gave his head a toss and flung the Keytool at the Spirit.

When Gizmo's form entered the center of the ghost, it remained still and hovered there. The Spirit remained still, looking at its midsection in confusion. A slight energy-drain took effect on the Keytool; that caused it to react.

Gizmo cut loose with an electrical shriek that cackled and spread throughout the Spirit's form. The ghost screamed as its health levels dropped dangerously, then its form began to flicker.

Then there was a white-hot flash of light as the Boss's form became blindingly illuminated, almost as bright as staring into the sun. With a flicker and the sound of electricity short-circuiting the being's aura, it exploded outward and winked out of existence.

Gizmo clattered to the ground, somewhat dazed for a moment. It recovered quickly, and returned to Starwell's limp form where it reattached itself to her arm. It chirped at her softly, [Starwell, are you okay?] It nuzzled against her, but there was no response.

The eerie fog began to dissipate and the sun shone through brilliantly. After a few moments, it appeared to be a perfectly normal, sunny day with a clear blue sky. A pair of falcons circled overhead and flew off.

It looked for all the world like nothing had ever happened.

Matrix blinked. He found himself lying flat on his back where he'd apparently fallen. He was back in his sprite-form, wearing nothing but his game default briefs.

He felt sore all over. It took him a few nanos to sort his processor out.

Then he recalled what he had been doing. "Bob? Starwell?" With a grunt he pushed himself to his hands and knees. He gritted his teeth, then got to his feet.

Starwell had returned to her normal form, her exposed skin glowing and dimming in sync with her energy pulse. She appeared to be temporarily offline.

Matrix checked her over. She would no doubt be hurting when she awoke, but at least she was still functioning. "Looks like you'll be okay, Pup," he said softly. "But where's Bob?"

The Guardian appeared to be nowhere in sight.

A beeping sound caught the Renegade's attention. He and Gizmo didn't exactly see eye to eye, but at least the strange Keytool knew when to be helpful. It was indicating a direction for Matrix's benefit.

Matrix eyed the Keytool for a nano, then walked toward one of the open graves. He had to move a couple of fallen corpses to peer inside, but the brilliant beam of sunlight illuminated a coffin below. It looked different from the rest of the cemetery, as if it were almost new. That indicated the coffin was something different. A trap, perhaps.

That was when he heard faint, muffled sounds below. It sounded like someone was banging on the inside.

"Bob?" Matrix crouched next to the opening in the ground, staring down. "Bob, is that you?" He had to be cautious, in case it was actually a trapped game sprite or some other hidden threat.

The muffled voice cried out a command, and the coffin lid flung open. Dust flew, causing Matrix to cough. His eyelids flickered as the flinging particles stung his eyes briefly.

Down in the hole, Bob coughed and grunted as he sat up in the coffin. Glitch returned to its default shape on his arm, having finished aiding him with a hammer-like feature. "Whoa," the Guardian remarked as the dust settled, "here I thought coffins were for vampires, not werewolves."

Matrix snorted from above. "If we were vampires," he quipped, "we wouldn't be out until sunset." He reached down and extended his hand to Bob.

Bob grasped it and accepted his friend's assistance as the Renegade helped him out.

"You okay?" Matrix asked, tired.

"Yeah." Bob brushed himself off and checked himself over. "You alright?"

"Yeah, mostly." Matrix tilted his head to one side. "So, are you cured?"

"I think so… Glitch, stats." Bob checked the readouts. "Looks like the defeat of the Spirit of Ages prevented my recompiling and canceled the Lycanthropy infection." He let out a breath. "That just leaves you and-" His eyes snapped up. "Where is Starwell?"

"Over there." Matrix pointed calmly toward her, where she lay unconscious on the ground.

The two sprites approached her. She was still out cold. "I've got some healing herbs in my inventory pack," Bob said as he squatted next to her.

"Where'd you get those?" Matrix asked tiredly.

"I found a lot of things when I was moving about in the woods, trying to find the ingredients for the werewolf cure," Bob replied as he took a couple of items from his pack. "You never know when some things might come in handy."

"I guess. Tends to make me feel like a pack rat, though." Matrix folded his arms.

Bob gently lifted Starwell's head off the ground, cradling it in his hand. He then used his free hand to slip an herb leaf into her mouth, where it seemed to immediately dissolve.

Starwell inhaled sharply and coughed. The obvious wounds and burns seemed to fade, replaced by some bruising and scarring tissue. Her eyelids fluttered open.

"You okay?" Bob asked the girl.

"Uh… I think so." Starwell tried to sit up; Bob assisted her, keeping a hand on her shoulder. "What happened? Where am I?"

"We're still in the game," Bob answered. "The Spirit of Ages has been destroyed."

"Oh… yeah." Starwell closed her eyes briefly. She looked as though she wanted to lie down and return to whatever nightmare she had been in a nano ago instead of dealing with the real one. Instead she sighed, and nodded. "Okay. So what's next?"

"The cure," Matrix said. He was sitting nearby atop a large, broken gravestone, though he remained alert and attentive.

Bob got the bottle out of his pack and eyed it forlornly. "Well, I'm already cured," he said, "but there's still only enough for one." He frowned, once again feeling as though he'd let his friends down.

"Yeah… that's a problem." Starwell shakily got to her feet, and shrugged away from Bob's touch. "So… what're we gonna do?" She took a couple steps forward and leaned against an old, dried out and withered tree that stuck out from the ground. It had some kind of odd symbols carved into it, similar to the ancient script in some of the gravestones.

"You take it, Starwell." Matrix stood, a serious expression on his face.

Starwell blinked, processing his words. Then she scowled stubbornly, clenching her fists at her sides. Of course she wanted it. Who wouldn't want to be cured of this stupid infection?

Still... she was starting to entertain an idea a little more. Once again she felt that Bob and Matrix deserved to go home, no matter what happened to her. After all... her chances of going home seemed... slim. She eyed Gizmo thoughtfully for a moment. As if reading her mind, it gave a quiet chirp. [Starwell, let's leave this game.]

She ignored the Keytool. "No, you take it," she told Matrix in a serious tone. "Besides," the side of her mouth quirked upward, "you need it more than I do. Do you have any idea how _ugly_ you are right now?" She supposed that she could find another cure or something… eventually. Or maybe she could learn to live in the game. If she was stuck in the Net, she'd have to get used to existing in this strange new reality anyway.

Matrix shook his head, but he couldn't help but feel amused. "You need to get home, Starwell." He walked towards her, so that Bob didn't see them. He leaned in close... To her ear. He placed something in her hands. It was round. "That is my Icon," he whispered, "When you get out of the game, tap it twice."

He took a step back, "The cure is yours."

"Enzo!" Bob said.

Matrix simply crossed his arms.

Starwell frowned as she examined the icon. She didn't understand, although Gizmo seemed to somehow. It clicked and whirred, urging her to take the cure.

"Okay," she murmured. She wasn't sure what else to do with the Icon, so she encircled her fingers around it, securing it to her palm.

"You sure this is going to work?" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure," said Bob. He gave Matrix a look. "I'm sorry Enzo."

"I wouldn't worry about it."

Starwell still didn't fully comprehend what was going on, although Gizmo seemed to be telling her that Matrix _would_ be coming with them; she just had to take care of his Icon until they were out of the game.

Gizmo once again chirped at her, urging her to take the cure.

She gingerly reached out and took the bottle from Bob. She stared at it for a moment, then she carefully tipped her head back and drank the contents.

She gasped and clutched her throat with both hands, dropping the bottle. She coughed and spluttered, oblivious to the sound of the bottle breaking at her feet. For a moment pain surged through her body, followed by a tingling sensation. The glow of her skin brightened for a nano, and then dimmed. Her skin went back to its normal shade of light olive.

"Are you alright?" Bob asked. Matrix just stood.

"Yeah," Starwell coughed, rubbing her throat. The tingling sensation died down, although her throat felt a little raw. "I'm okay."

On her arm, Gizmo beeped and then accessed the Main Menu function within the Game. Once again it displayed the list of options that any User had access too... and Gizmo automatically high-lighted "Quit Game" on the holographic menu above it.

Starwell stared at it for a long moment. She looked at Bob, and then she looked at Matrix.

"I'm going to quit the game," she gulped. "And see what happens." Her eyes locked briefly with Matrix's.

"You can do that? Quit Games?" Bob would have been shocked. Would have.

"Do what you need to," said Matrix, "If that is what it really takes-"

He was cut off when a slew of arrows flew. He was hit four times, the other just missed Starwell and Bob.

Grave robbers.

"Matrix!" Bob yelled.

"Quit the Game!" Matrix shouted.

"Gizmo, Quit Game!" Starwell screamed.


	23. Chapter 23

Everything seemed to freeze for just a split-nano. Bandits froze in place as their battle cries stopped suddenly, like sound caught in their throats. Arrows halted in mid-air, hovering in limbo. Everything hesitated in limbo like a Game that had been put on Pause….

Or a Game that was in the process of ending.

"GAME OVER. USER ALPHA STARWELL RESIGNS."

The System Voice repeated itself once as their surroundings dissolved. Starwell kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut, fearing what might happen to her.

"GAME OVER. USER ALPHA STARWELL RESIGNS."

There was a flash of light so bright that she could see it even though her closed eyelids. Everything was then silent.

She slowly opened her eyes. Her surroundings were completely different now; she was back in the place where she had first appeared in Mainframe, in the area near the docks. Bob stood nearby, and they both stood alone.

"Wow," she said breathlessly. "It's over. It's really over." Gizmo beeped. Starwell was too disoriented and stunned by everything that had happened to pay attention to what the Keytool was trying to say to her.

"Enzo..." Bob looked forlornly up into the sky. He glimpsed the Game Cube as it departed through the port, enabling the sky to turn blue once again.

Starwell blinked as she glanced about. "Matrix?" she said, turning completely around. She frowned as she focused on Bob. "He's not here," she said.

"No," Bob said with a sad sigh. "He's not." The Guardian's shoulders slumped and he hung his head.

"Where is he?" the girl asked tentatively. Little did she know that she would actually grow to _care_ about what happened to the big, brutish sprite. But after everything they'd been through…

"He's… stuck in the game," Bob said. "Since his Lycanthropy wasn't cured-"

"You mean he stayed in the game?" Starwell exclaimed. "He's _trapped_ in there with no way out because of that infection?" She looked up at the sky, as if she wished she could reach up and pull the game cube back.

Bob sighed. This was something he had experienced before in the past, but he never thought he'd go through it like this. He kicked himself mentally for not keeping a better grip on the cure. He wondered how he was going to explain this to AndrAIa, to Dot, and especially the younger Enzo…

Gizmo beeped again, catching Starwell's attention. She glanced down at it, and it whirred at her. It seemed impatient about something, annoyed even.

Then she snapped out of her fog and remembered. She glanced down at her chest, relieved to find that she was once again clothed in her original outfit. She gingerly touched the icon, taking it from her chest. It separated from her being and came loose in her hand.

She let it rest in her palm for a moment, studying it. Then she tapped it with two fingers.

There was a flash. Electricity shimmered with the icon, and formed something humanoid; Starwell let out a startled yelp as she took a step back from it.

Bob watched. He knew this; he had seen something just like it before.

Matrix stood in his very own form, his very one bitmap. He looked like a biker or a ruffian. There was no trace of any altered code, or even bruise marks. "Hey there, Starwell."

The girl beamed and pressed her hand to her mouth, trying to suppress a delighted giggle. She didn't quite succeed; her relief refused to be contained. "Okay that was awesome," she said, feeling a little giddy in spite of herself. She momentarily forgot the hopelessness and despair she'd begun to feel inside the game; just seeing them all outside of the game and okay lifted her spirits at least a little.

"We made it!" She grabbed Matrix in a brief hug.

"Yeah, we did." Matrix and Bob gave a smile to one another.

There was growling. It shook all of them. Then something pounced on Bob. A big red and yellow dog. Starwell's eyes widened with a gasp, unsure what to make of the sudden appearance of an animal.

"Frisket?" Bob said. The dog growled briefly in his face, then glanced up at Matrix. It became evident to Starwell who the dog's master was.

"I guess Frisket wants to say hi," Matrix remarked, folding his muscular arms across his chest. He appeared mildly amused.

"Seems he found us alright," Bob said with a forced chuckle. The sharp, powerful teeth of the dog were enough to make anyone nervous.

"Alright, Frisket, get off of Bob," Matrix ordered, and the dog complied. "Oh, yeah," he said, glancing at Starwell. "Frisket, this is Starwell. Starwell, Frisket."

The dog came closer to Starwell, causing her to take a nervous step back. Bob got up and brushed himself off as Frisket sniffed the girl. The canine's ears stood straight up, as if he detected something that only he could smell. He didn't bark, he didn't even growl, he just looked... completely stunned. If it was possible for a dog to be speechless and shocked, that described Frisket right at the moment.

"What is it, boy?" Matrix asked, with some concern. He'd never seen his dog react quite that way to a stranger before.

Starwell cleared her throat, feeling uncomfortable. "Hey um, could you guys excuse me a moment?" she asked, already backing away. "I'm not gonna go far," she promised, "I just... want a moment alone with Gizmo, please."

"Don't get lost, kid," said Matrix, then focused his attention on Frisket. He gave the dog a pat between the ears.

Starwell murmured a brief thank-you and moved a few meters away. She was still close enough so that they could hear her if she yelled or called for them, but far enough away to be just out of sight. She ducked into an alley and sat down in a space between two dumpsters. "Come on, Gizmo," she whispered. "Please tell me you know something. Anything. Something that will help me get back to my Uncle's system."

Gizmo whirred, and it seemed to examine its databanks. Then it flashed a brief piece of data that caused Starwell's eyes to light up. "Will that help?" she asked. Gizmo seemed to indicate it was possible. "Well all right!"' Starwell beamed.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Now where did that dog get to?" Mouse uttered out loud as she walked cautiously down a street. She had only barely arrived in the dock area, near the outer edge of the city and near the Energy Sea.

Frisket had ran off, likely to find Matrix or Bob or whatever caused this. With her own curiosity, Mouse had ran after the dog. "Frisket, here boy," she called out. She gave a shrill whistle, hoping it would attract the dog's attention if he was nearby. There was no response; at least not from the dog. A pair of gray nulls squeaked and peered out from a pile of discard; one of them slithered away.

She kept walking until she reached an alley; she peered into it. There was no sign of Frisket, although something told her that someone was nearby.

Then she heard someone talking, and pushed herself against the wall. It was a voice she didn't recognize; she decided to border on the line of caution.

The tenure of the voice sounded like a young person…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Starwell felt lucky. It would simply be a matter of whether that luck would turn out to hold up or not... time would tell. Not only had she confirmed that Gizmo had a copy of the IP address, but it also had a packet of information detailed the exact specs and build of her Uncle's computer. Hopefully the IP address would be like the equivalent of finding someplace via their mailing address... although she still wasn't entirely certain how the Net worked. Maybe the other information would help as well, somehow.

She giggled with glee as Gizmo revealed that it had a few other snippets of data as well that might help her locate that System. It wasn't much, and Gizmo made it clear that it still wouldn't be easy, but it was a hope.

"Hey I'll take anything I can get right now," she said, standing up and stepping out from between the dumpsters. "Thank you so much! At least it gives me a little hope."

"Now what do we have here?" A female voice drawled with a Southern accent. A lavender-skinned sprite with fiery red hair stepped out of the shadows, looking at the younger sprite. Particularly, the Keytool.

Starwell flinched, her eyes widening as this person stepped toward her. She was briefly reminded of Anna, the woman who'd attacked her in her Uncle's System, but this obviously wasn't her. This person had a very different voice, a completely different outfit, not to mention her hair glowed like liquid energy.

"Uh..." Starwell swallowed. "Hi?" Gizmo clicked and whirred on her arm. "Shh," Starwell shushed it. She then turned her attention back to the newcomer. "Um, I'm Alpha Starwell." Was it strange that she hardly considered herself "Hannah" anymore? Maybe she had been in this crazy world for too long.

Or maybe Matrix had called her "Starwell" too many times...

"Who are you?" she asked, trying to keep it friendly.

"I'm Mouse," said the stranger, and she gave a half fanged grin, "Pleasure to meet cha, Sugar. I don't see many sprites outside of my group of friends, where do you come from?"

The fangs unnerved Starwell a little. It wasn't like she had met many sprites, yet, but the last time she saw fangs in a sprite was Matrix... when he was infected. Was Mouse a vampire? After having just been cured from a werewolf sprite infection, she had no desire to become infected with something else… or to have her blood, or energy, or whatever drained from her body.

Starwell found herself still uncertain of her surroundings, and she had no idea what might be considered proper etiquette. Therefore she thought it might be rude to ask if this woman was a vampire... in case she wasn't one. But still...

She took a couple of nervous steps back, trying to put a little distance between herself and Mouse, just in case. "I'm... new," she said simply. "That is... well, I come from my Uncle's system, and I'm trying to get back there. I uh… I ended up falling into a portal that took me out of that system, and I got lost on the Net. Somehow I ended up here." She shrugged a little.

She also decided that if Mouse flashed her fangs too much, or made any kind of threatening move, she was going to scream for Matrix.

"Lost in the Net, huh? Well don't that sound familiar." Mouse took another step forward, letting herself relax and even put a little swing in her step. "Well now, that's a fancy little tool you got there. You a Guardian or something?"

Starwell took another couple of steps back as her eyes widened nervously. Gizmo beeped a warning, and she placed a hand protectively over it. She didn't want it flying off or doing something stupid, and she didn't want to risk Mouse taking it.

"It's... just a Keytool," she said simply, licking her lips nervously. "I'm not a Guardian. I'm a..." She bit her lower lip. Would Mouse believe her if she admitted she was a User? If she did believe her, would that cause any trouble?

"Hmm, Alpha testing right?" Mouse dutifully noted the lack of an icon of any sort. She placed a hand on her hip, tilting her head slightly as she studied the young sprite. Starwell didn't make any attempts to move further back, though she did seem uncomfortable under the scrutiny.

"I guess you could say that," Starwell said thoughtfully. "I'm sure I am the first one of my kind, in a way."

She chose to phrase her next sentence carefully, and she eyed Mouse to see how the fanged woman would react. "I got caught in that last Game," she said. "It accepted me as a second User."

"Ah," Mouse mused, confirming what she'd already gathered. This young sprite was the little devil that the System had been calling for. Everyone heard something about a "second User" who'd been accepted in the last Game. "User, huh? How about you tell me about-"

"Starwell! There you are!" Bob came from behind, "Oh, hey Mouse, I didn't expect to see you here."

"What can I say? I appear when I want to."

"You two know each other?" That actually helped Starwell relax a little bit. It seemed to help Gizmo calm down a bit, too.

"Yeah, we go way back." Bob chuckled.

"Oh yes, plenty of dates, Sugar." Mouse smiled mischievously.

"Oooooo," Starwell intoned, a touch of mischief in her tone as she took in that piece of information. On her wrist, Gizmo almost seemed to chuckle in its own fashion. "Well," Starwell said, clearing her throat, "is there... somewhere we can go? I mean," she patted Gizmo, "my little friend here has the IP address to my Uncle's system. Is there anywhere we can go to check it out?"

Bob spoke up. "The Principal Office might still have that Gateway Command."

"Sorry, Honey," Mouse interjected, "but that disappeared when Megabyte fell off the Map."

"What?"

"What does that mean?" Starwell asked, refusing to let her hopes be crushed yet. "Can we go to this Principal Office and take a look?" She sounded almost desperate.

"Don't see why not," Mouse shrugged.

"Awesome," Starwell said with a smile. "So uh... is the Command Dot Com a real sprite, too? Like us?"

"Of course. Dot, Matrix's older sister is the Command Dot Com," said Bob, a little proudly.

"Not alone," said Mouse, "She's got plenty of help."

"Oh, really?" Starwell smiled a little, relieved that they didn't seem to be bothered by her continuous, simplistic questions. "Maybe I could meet her sometime."

Gizmo beeped on her arm again. She eyed it briefly with annoyance, and then said, "So... what do we do now? What do you people... do here?" She gave a little shrug. Somehow she had a feeling she might end up having to stay here for a while. She might as well figure out what the natives did, so to speak. Outside of the games at least.

"Do? Hon," Mouse chuckled, "I think I need to take you around town sometime." At a look from Bob she quickly amended, "With Dot and AndrAIa mind you, call it a girl's night out."

Frisket appeared between them, giving a loud bark. He still eyed Starwell with that odd expression, as if the shock hadn't worn off. Then he began to snarl.

Starwell's eyes flew wide with alarm and she took a couple steps back. [Don't worry about him,] Gizmo chirped, [I bet that mutt is afraid of cats!]

Frisket bared his teeth and barked; Starwell shrieked and ducked behind Mouse and Bob.

"Frisket," Matrix said sternly, his voice calling out from above. "down boy." The red-and-yellow dog looked up at him. The Renegade had appeared on a Zip Board, floating just a few meters above their heads.

Frisket whimpered as his ears drooped. Frisket then sat on the ground, though he continued to give Starwell odd looks.

"It's okay, boy," Matrix reassured the dog. Then he dropped three other zip boards to the ground, "I think it would be a good idea to do a scan on me and Starwell, just in case the game left any coding. I don't want to have issues Rebooting in Games."

Starwell eyed the item that had been dropped before her. She felt incredibly sheepish, realizing that she was about to ask yet another stupid question. "Okay, what is this?" she asked, picking it up and carefully turning it over in her hands. "And what does it do? How does it work?"

"It's a Zip Board, here I'll show you." Bob threw one of the Zip Boards out, and it unfurled into two platforms connected by what seemed like piping. He stepped on two the platforms, one foot each.

The Zip Board activated, and rose until Bob was level with Matrix. "See?" He smiled. "Easy."

"Oh yeah?" Starwell furrowed her brow, uncertain. She recognized the device; it was the thing that Anna Code had rode back in her Uncle's system… when she was chasing Starwell. She had nearly forgotten it in light of all the things she'd been through more recently.

"I don't know, it looks like you can fall off of it pretty easy," Starwell said after a moment. Back home, it had taken her forever to learn how to ride a bike properly, because her coordination and balance hadn't been that good. She grimaced, unable to help the mental image of getting into a Zip Board just to tumble head-first into the ground.

It made her not even want to try.

"Thanks, but... I think I'll walk, if that's okay," she said warily. She clenched her fingers around the Zip Board thing, refusing to throw it out or let it expand.

Before Bob could say anything, Matrix spoke, "Suit yourself. Frisket, escort her to the Principal's Office."

"I'll also keep an eye on her," said Mouse. She gave the young sprite a somewhat curious glance, eyeing the alien Keytool on Starwell's arm, though no one really noticed.

Starwell was grateful that they didn't insist on her using the zip board. Perhaps she would try it eventually, but... just not now. She had just experienced too many weird changes and strange new adventures. Not to mention her life had been put in danger too many times in the game.

She was in _no_ mood to risk falling off of a zip board. Especially since... she was afraid of heights.

Starwell eyed the sky as Matrix and Bob exchanged glances. "We'll meet you back at the Principal's Office, kid," Matrix called out, and then the guys seemed to go on ahead. Starwell then took note of where Mouse hovered nearby on her own Zip Board, and then the young User-sprite glanced at Frisket.

He really was a big dog. And a pretty one.

"Hey boy," Starwell said with a smile, tentatively holding her hand out. "I'm Alpha Starwell. Are you a nice dog?" She let her hand hover in front of the dog's nose, knowing it was always a good idea to let them sniff you before you tried to touch them.

Then it finally dawned on her. There were _animals_ in this world? Could she get a pet here if she was forced to stay here a while? Maybe a kitten?

Frisket sniffed her hand. He still had that odd look, as though he'd detected something different about her. When her hand got too close he bared his teeth and snarled, causing her to flinch and back up. He still wouldn't attack her, as per Matrix's order, but obviously he didn't want to be touched by her.

"Come on, Starwell," Mouse drawled in her Southern accent. "Let's get going."

Frisket snorted, put his snout in the air, and began to lead the way.


End file.
